African Cancer Registry Network

The Nuffield Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, has announced the list of 2015 DPhil research projects. Click here for more information.

Within the list, our project titled Burden and trends in cancers of the breast and female genital tract in sub Saharan Africa is now open for application, until 9th January 2015. The successful applicant will work with Dr Parkin (AFCRN, Oxford) and Dr Freddie Bray (IARC, Lyon), along with other researchers in Oxford  and Lyon, and the African cancer registry PIs, to develop a comprehensive picture of the burden and trends in cancers of the breast and female genital tract in sub Saharan Africa. Should you be interested in applying for this study please click here for more information.

The African Cancer Registry Network (AFCRN) was formally inaugurated on 1st March, 2012, and succeeded and expanded the activities of the East African Cancer Registry Network(EARN), which had been established in January 2011, thanks to a grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (USA).

AFCRN is a project of the Cancer Registry Programme of the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR). It is supported financially through The (INCTR) Challenge Fund, a registered UK charity (charity number 1079181) that raises funds for INCTR projects. The Challenge Fund in turn receives donations designated to support cancer registry activities in low and middle income countries.

AFCRN aims improve the effectiveness of cancer surveillance in sub Saharan Africa by providing expert evaluation of current problems and technical support to remedy identified barriers, with long-term goals of strengthening health systems and creating research platforms for the identification of problems, priorities, and targets for intervention. Support to AFCRN is a recognition of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, and especially cancer, in the continent, and the need for adequate surveillance as a fundamental part of any rational programme for cancer control.

2014 is the third year of the work of the African Cancer Registry Network (AFCRN). Since September 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), in the framework of its Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (GICR), has partnered with AFCRN to provide a network Regional Hub for cancer registration in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The role of a regional hub is in:

• providing technical and scientific support to countries;
• delivering tailored training in population-based cancer registration and use of data;
• advocating the cause of cancer registration in the region and facilitating setting up associations and networks of cancer registries; and
• coordinating international research projects and disseminating findings

The role of INCTR is provision of a secretariat and coordinating centre for the Network, which assists in implementing the Programme of Activities.

Current Network Members

Advisory Group