The decision by the Rotary Club of Kigali Virunga to mobilise resources towards the procurement of Rwanda’s first Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography scanner is commendable and deserves wider support. The club has so far raised $50,000 towards a $5 million campaign for the equipment, demonstrating what organised citizens can accomplish when they rally around a national challenge. Cancer affects families, workplaces and entire communities. Consequently, the responsibility to fight it cannot be left to government, hospitals and healthcare professionals alone. Businesses can contribute resources. Civil society organisations can mobilise communities. The media can strengthen awareness. Schools can promote healthier lifestyles, while individuals can take greater responsibility for their own health. Everyone has a role, however modest. The Rotarians have provided a good example of what this collective responsibility can look like. Their campaign should therefore attract support from corporate organisations, philanthropists and ordinary citizens who are able to contribute. But the effort should not end when the $5 million target is reached and the scanner is procured. That milestone should instead mark the beginning of another campaign—one focused much more aggressively on prevention, awareness and early detection. The scanner will undoubtedly strengthen the country's ability to diagnose and manage disease. Yet the ultimate ambition should be to have as few people as possible needing advanced cancer treatment in the first place. According to the World Health Organisation, between 30 and 50 per cent of cancer cases can be prevented through measures that reduce exposure to known risk factors and encourage healthier lifestyles. Screening and early diagnosis are equally important because they can identify some cancers at stages when treatment is more effective. This is where the next phase of mobilisation should concentrate. Communities need sustained education on avoiding tobacco, limiting harmful alcohol consumption, maintaining healthy diets and body weight, remaining physically active and taking advantage of appropriate screening programmes. Cancer should not only command our attention when someone is already sick or when money is being raised for expensive equipment. The Rotarians have shown that citizens can mobilise behind treatment and diagnosis. The same energy must now be directed towards prevention. The best cancer scanner is one that is available when patients need it. But an even greater success would be preventing thousands of people from ever needing to use it.
