Sixteen and a half thousand new cancers a year: the Cancer Diseases Hospital puts a number on the burden

Zambia records approximately 16,500 new cancer cases and 9,700 cancer-related deaths every year — and cervical cancer carries the heaviest single share of that burden, the University Teaching Hospital's Cancer Diseases Hospital has disclosed.

UTH-CDH Acting Senior Medical Superintendent Dr Paul Kamfwa said the country records about 4,700 new cervical cancer cases annually, with more than half of the affected patients dying from the disease. Of the 16,500 cancer patients recorded countrywide, only about 3,000 are currently receiving treatment at the Lusaka hospital.

Dr Kamfwa made the remarks during a community cleaning exercise conducted by Zambia Correctional Service officers at the hospital to commemorate Africa Corrections Day.

Zambia Correctional Service Commissioner-General Fredrick Chilukutu, represented by Deputy Commissioner-General Crispin Kaonga, said the Service is committed to community engagement as part of building safer and more resilient communities. Correctional facilities, he said, should not focus only on custody but also equip inmates with skills, healthcare, education and opportunities for successful reintegration — including strengthened medical screening, disease prevention, health education and access to treatment behind bars.

The figures align with the national cancer registry's long-standing finding that cervical cancer is Zambia's most prevalent cancer — a disease that is preventable through HPV vaccination and treatable when caught early, which is what makes its share of the death toll a standing indictment of late presentation and thin screening coverage rather than of the disease itself.

Sources: Lusaka Times, "Zambia Records 16,500 New Cancer Cases Annually" (25 Sep 2026); Zambia National Cancer Registry data.