Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis

Chang Bae Chun

doi:doi:10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12

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Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis

Chang Bae Chun

Published in International Journal of Health Economics and Policy (Volume 3, Issue 2)

Received: 25 June 2018 Accepted: 13 July 2018 Published: 4 August 2018

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Abstract

In Fiji, cancers are the third leading cause of death behind cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The cancer incidence is to increase rapidly, but cancer patients are not able to obtain treatment within the country. Instead they have to go abroad because radiotherapy services are not available in Fiji. To overcome the limited accessibility of cancer treatment, Fiji’s government developed the National Cancer Control Plan and established a National Oncology Committee in 2014 to promote the establishment of a radiation oncology center. In spite of the government’s willingness and much research, the implementation of the roadmap to build the oncology center has been delayed. To help the process avoid derailment, this study suggests rationales that go beyond cost-benefit analysis and other validations given in academic research. The three simple but strong rationales are suggested. Health sovereignty makes it the government’s obligation to promote the health of the entire population. Governments should ensure the health of people by guaranteeing basic and necessary health services like cancer treatment. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is an important goal for both developed and developing countries. Under UHC, everyone should be able to access the health services they need without financial hardship. This underscores the fact that UHC without cancer treatment is not possible. The development of a cancer treatment hub in the South Pacific region can be promoted as an important motivation for the establishment of a radiation oncology centre. Many countries in this region are too small to achieve economies of scale in their health sectors. Fiji has the potential to become a cancer treatment hub by establishing and operating a radiation therapy center for the populations of both Fiji and other neighboring countries.

Published in	International Journal of Health Economics and Policy (Volume 3, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12
Page(s)	20-27
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Radiation Oncology, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Health Sovereignty, Universal Health Coverage, Cancer Treatment Hub, Fiji

References

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[2]	Ministry of Health and Medical Services and International Atomic Energy Agency (2016), Improving the treatment outcomes and quality of lives for cancer patients in Fiji and neighboring ‘Small Island Nations’ through the implementation of radiotherapy services in Suva, Fiji. Bankable Document.
[3]	International Atomic Energy Agency. (2015). IAEA Mission Fiji (Project No: RAS007031).
[4]	International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). (2014). Integrated Missions of PACT (imPACT) Report: Cancer Control Capacity and Needs Assessment Report.
[5]	Ministry of Health and Medical Services. (2016). National Strategic Plan 2016-2020. Suva.
[6]	Ministry of Health and Medical Services (2017). National Cancer Control Strategic Plan (2017-2021), Suva.
[7]	Office of the Prime Minister (2014). Memorandum: Cabinet Decision No. 23 on the subject of Radio Oncology Centre. Suva.
[8]	Eunkyoung K. Yoon-min, Cho, Soonman K, Kunhee Park (2017). Cost-benefit analysis of establishing and operating radiation oncology services in Fiji. Cancer Epidemiology. 50 (2017) 247-256.
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[10]	Ministry of Health and Medical Services (2015). Cancer patients treated overseas with government subsidies. Suva, Republic of Fiji.
[11]	Government of Fiji and IAEA (2015). Country Programme Framework 2016-2020. Suva.
[12]	Werkhseiser, I. (2014). Food Sovereignty, Health Sovereignty, and self-organized community viability. Interdisciplinary Environmental Review. Vol. 15, Nos. 2/3.
[13]	Gibson, R. D. (1988). We the people: Our Inalienable Right to Quality Health Care. American Pharmacy No. 28 (12): 19-21. December.
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[17]	Russo G, Bloom, G, and McCoy D. (2017). Universal health coverage, economics slowdown and system resilience: Africa’s policy dilemma.
[18]	Agyepong et al. (2016). The “Universal” in the UHC and Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme: Policy and Implementation Challenges and Dilemmas of a Lower Middle Income Country. BMC Health Services Research. (2016) 16:504 DOI 10.1186/s12913-016-1758-y.
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[21]	MoHMS. (2018). Universal Health Coverage. NHEC Memorrandum. Suva, Rewa Province, Fiji: MoHMS.
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Chang Bae Chun. (2018). Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis. International Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 3(2), 20-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12

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ACS Style

Chang Bae Chun. Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis. Int. J. Health Econ. Policy 2018, 3(2), 20-27. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12

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AMA Style

Chang Bae Chun. Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis. Int J Health Econ Policy. 2018;3(2):20-27. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12

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@article{10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12,
  author = {Chang Bae Chun},
  title = {Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis},
  journal = {International Journal of Health Economics and Policy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hep.20180302.12},
  abstract = {In Fiji, cancers are the third leading cause of death behind cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The cancer incidence is to increase rapidly, but cancer patients are not able to obtain treatment within the country. Instead they have to go abroad because radiotherapy services are not available in Fiji. To overcome the limited accessibility of cancer treatment, Fiji’s government developed the National Cancer Control Plan and established a National Oncology Committee in 2014 to promote the establishment of a radiation oncology center. In spite of the government’s willingness and much research, the implementation of the roadmap to build the oncology center has been delayed. To help the process avoid derailment, this study suggests rationales that go beyond cost-benefit analysis and other validations given in academic research. The three simple but strong rationales are suggested. Health sovereignty makes it the government’s obligation to promote the health of the entire population. Governments should ensure the health of people by guaranteeing basic and necessary health services like cancer treatment. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is an important goal for both developed and developing countries. Under UHC, everyone should be able to access the health services they need without financial hardship. This underscores the fact that UHC without cancer treatment is not possible. The development of a cancer treatment hub in the South Pacific region can be promoted as an important motivation for the establishment of a radiation oncology centre. Many countries in this region are too small to achieve economies of scale in their health sectors. Fiji has the potential to become a cancer treatment hub by establishing and operating a radiation therapy center for the populations of both Fiji and other neighboring countries.},
 year = {2018}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis
AU - Chang Bae Chun
Y1 - 2018/08/04
PY - 2018
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12
DO - 10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12
T2 - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JF - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
JO - International Journal of Health Economics and Policy
SP - 20
EP - 27
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2578-9309
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12
AB - In Fiji, cancers are the third leading cause of death behind cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The cancer incidence is to increase rapidly, but cancer patients are not able to obtain treatment within the country. Instead they have to go abroad because radiotherapy services are not available in Fiji. To overcome the limited accessibility of cancer treatment, Fiji’s government developed the National Cancer Control Plan and established a National Oncology Committee in 2014 to promote the establishment of a radiation oncology center. In spite of the government’s willingness and much research, the implementation of the roadmap to build the oncology center has been delayed. To help the process avoid derailment, this study suggests rationales that go beyond cost-benefit analysis and other validations given in academic research. The three simple but strong rationales are suggested. Health sovereignty makes it the government’s obligation to promote the health of the entire population. Governments should ensure the health of people by guaranteeing basic and necessary health services like cancer treatment. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is an important goal for both developed and developing countries. Under UHC, everyone should be able to access the health services they need without financial hardship. This underscores the fact that UHC without cancer treatment is not possible. The development of a cancer treatment hub in the South Pacific region can be promoted as an important motivation for the establishment of a radiation oncology centre. Many countries in this region are too small to achieve economies of scale in their health sectors. Fiji has the potential to become a cancer treatment hub by establishing and operating a radiation therapy center for the populations of both Fiji and other neighboring countries.
VL - 3
IS - 2
ER -

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Author Information

Chang Bae Chun

Department of Operation and Support, Korea Foundation for International Healthcare, Seoul, South Korea

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Chang Bae Chun. (2018). Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis. International Journal of Health Economics and Policy, 3(2), 20-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12

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ACS Style

Chang Bae Chun. Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis. Int. J. Health Econ. Policy 2018, 3(2), 20-27. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12

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AMA Style

Chang Bae Chun. Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis. Int J Health Econ Policy. 2018;3(2):20-27. doi: 10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12

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@article{10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12,
  author = {Chang Bae Chun},
  title = {Rationales for Establishing a Radiation Oncology Center in Fiji: Beyond Cost and Benefit Analysis},
  journal = {International Journal of Health Economics and Policy},
  volume = {3},
  number = {2},
  pages = {20-27},
  doi = {10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hep.20180302.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hep.20180302.12},
  abstract = {In Fiji, cancers are the third leading cause of death behind cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. The cancer incidence is to increase rapidly, but cancer patients are not able to obtain treatment within the country. Instead they have to go abroad because radiotherapy services are not available in Fiji. To overcome the limited accessibility of cancer treatment, Fiji’s government developed the National Cancer Control Plan and established a National Oncology Committee in 2014 to promote the establishment of a radiation oncology center. In spite of the government’s willingness and much research, the implementation of the roadmap to build the oncology center has been delayed. To help the process avoid derailment, this study suggests rationales that go beyond cost-benefit analysis and other validations given in academic research. The three simple but strong rationales are suggested. Health sovereignty makes it the government’s obligation to promote the health of the entire population. Governments should ensure the health of people by guaranteeing basic and necessary health services like cancer treatment. Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is an important goal for both developed and developing countries. Under UHC, everyone should be able to access the health services they need without financial hardship. This underscores the fact that UHC without cancer treatment is not possible. The development of a cancer treatment hub in the South Pacific region can be promoted as an important motivation for the establishment of a radiation oncology centre. Many countries in this region are too small to achieve economies of scale in their health sectors. Fiji has the potential to become a cancer treatment hub by establishing and operating a radiation therapy center for the populations of both Fiji and other neighboring countries.},
 year = {2018}
}

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