KNH, Faraja Cancer Support Trust launch child-friendly cancer workbook to support young patients

• The workbook uses simplified language, illustrations, colouring activities and age-appropriate information to help children understand their diagnosis and encourage them to engage more openly with their healthcare teams.

Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) has partnered with Faraja Cancer Support Trust to equip children battling cancer with information and psychosocial support aimed at improving their treatment experience and outcomes.

The partnership has seen the launch of a child-friendly cancer workbook, with 1,200 copies donated to KNH for children undergoing treatment.

The workbook uses simplified language, illustrations, colouring activities and age-appropriate information to help children understand their diagnosis and encourage them to engage more openly with their healthcare teams.

Head of Pediatrics at KNH, Dr, Juliana Muiva, said the partnership with Faraja has evolved over more than a decade from one-on-one visits to broader support including counselling, play therapy, financial assistance and educational resources.

“This is a very important milestone for us because not only do these partners give us continued support in terms of child care development, play therapy and other supportive structures, they're actually giving us a lot of resources to enable our children to recover better,” Muiva said.

She said the workbook could help children ask questions they may otherwise be uncomfortable raising with doctors and nurses.

“Some of the questions they are shy to ask about, like the things they are scared to ask the providers for, will be answered inside this book,” she said.

Muiva added that the 1,200 copies would provide a significant resource for the hospital, which currently has about 100 children in the ward.

Faraja Cancer Support Trust CEO David Makumi said the initiative was launched during the September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to draw attention to the realities facing children with cancer in Kenya.

“Childhood cancer is a reality in this country, and childhood cancer survival rates are dismayingly low in our country. We can do better,” Makumi said.

According to Makumi, Kenya records about 3,200 new childhood cancer cases every year, although the actual number could be higher because some children never reach specialised treatment centres and may die without a diagnosis.

He contrasted Kenya's situation with global outcomes, noting that childhood cancer survival can reach 90% globally, while survival rates in Sub-Saharan Africa can be as low as about 30%.

“Because childhood cancers are very, very treatable, curable, nine out of 10 children should actually survive childhood cancer, go on to become useful citizens of this country, pursue their dreams and careers,” he said.

Makumi said the workbook is also intended to address treatment abandonment, where children begin treatment but fail to complete it.

He said abandonment rates in some centres have been reported at between 30% and 40%, with lack of accurate information among the contributing factors.

“This book will fill that gap,” Makumi said, adding that Faraja plans to distribute the workbook free of charge to children with cancer in hospitals across the country.

The initiative also includes parents, who receive information, counselling and support as they navigate their children's treatment.

Muiva said psychosocial activities at KNH also give parents an opportunity to connect and relieve some of the emotional burden associated with having a sick child.

“At the end of this session, everybody feels like they have really released some of their burdens,” she said.

Faraja says the workbook has been reviewed by doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers and parents to ensure it addresses the information needs of children and their families.