Network for Oncology Research in Africa

NORA contributes to improving cancer prevention and care in Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on continuous cancer surveillance through registries and intervention programs in the communities, at the primary health care level including community workers, and oncologic care. Cancer is responsible for estimated 533,000 regional deaths annually, with a steep increase expected in the region. Women are disproportionately affected since breast and cervical cancer are most common.

NORA involves scientists who have been working together in cancer research in different ways for many years and aims at building capacity for the next generation of scientists and cancer professionals in Africa. Academic institutions from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa together with the African Cancer Registry Network link with the Martin-Luther-University and the Charité Universitätsmedizin in Germany. NORA will build on current WHO Global Cancer Initiatives that have recently defined targets to improve breast and cervical cancer care, align with national cancer control plans and move forward to generating evidence on efficient and effective strategies to implement cancer control in Africa. Both existing and new population-based and hospital-based registries will collect critically informative data on, e.g., stage at diagnosis, time to and completeness of treatment. Qualitative studies about socio-cultural and environmental factors in the community will feed into and support the ongoing development of awareness campaigns, health system strengthening, and patient navigation in multi-country cluster-randomized trials.

NORA collaborates closely with the Ministries of Health in all participating countries. Interventions will be assessed quantitatively, improved, and will contribute to knowledge about better care and eventually better outcome of cancer patients in participating countries.

NORA is funded by the BMBF and is part of RHISSA (Research Networks for Health Innovations in Sub-Saharan Africa).