Elders write to Museveni over support for cancer treatment

A group of senior citizens who have previously served the country in high positions have written to President Museveni, asking him personally to get involved in the fight against cancer and diabetes, two diseases that are becoming one of the major killers of Ugandans.

The elders include retired Chief Justice Samuel Wako Wambuzi; John Bosco Katutsi, a retired High court justice; Joseph Mulwanyamuli Ssemwogerere, the former Katikkiro of Buganda; Kasole Lwanga Bwerere, a former member of parliament; Prof Livingstone Sserwadda Luboobi, a former Makerere University vice chancellor and Prof John Ddumba Ssentamu, also a former Makerere University vice chancellor, among others.

In their letter to the president, the elders argue that the president, who has been at the forefront of supporting scientific innovations, should actually pay attention to supporting the development of diabetes and cancer cures, especially after the innovation of a drug that has proven effective in the fight.

They say the long life they have lived has made them witness the transformation that Uganda has gone through. They argue that to achieve the desired economic transformations, the country should deliberately invest in the health of its people.

“We believe that the leaders of this nation who came before you were inspired, despite their shortfalls, by the words coined by Sir Winston Churchill, that Uganda is the pearl of Africa. That inspiration is a firm invocation that has also motivated us to write to you concerning the exploits of our fellow countryman, David Ssenfuka, who not long ago discovered natural medicines that have proved effective cures for diabetes and cancer, some of us authoring this letter being living witnesses to that fact. Yet, however, we have found it reprehensible that, up to now, no government effort or enthusiasm has been shown or expressed to have his exploits encouraged to a level desirable for all and sundry to benefit,” the four-page letter reads in part.

The letter adds that the elders appreciate the fiscal challenges that Uganda has for long faced and the inability to find solutions for every problem that the country faces; however, the leadership of President Museveni must get involved in something that they say will be a game changer not only health-wise but also economically.

“We have researched fairly enough to conclude that there exists a legal framework under which local innovators… can have their innovations encouraged, elevated, and protected… An innovator like Ssenfuka would require endorsement from an institutional review body like a university, which would ethically approve clinical trial protocols, and in conjunction with the Uganda National Council of Science and Technology, permission would be granted to carry out human clinical trials. We only wonder why the relevant state bodies have not come out to enthusiastically embrace this man’s innovations. That is how the Western world has been able to advance. By the state investing in the local innovations of its citizens, Western states have laid a firm foundation of their wealth for many generations to come, because they realized that individuals in their own capacities cannot break the shackles and barriers existing in a heavily protected capitalist society,” the letter reads in part.

The letter also asks the president for an audience in order for them to pitch to him what they believe is a viable project that will fundamentally transform the health system of not only Uganda but the world at large. In their letter, the elders also acknowledge the financial hardships that Uganda is facing due to the enormous amounts of money needed to develop the drug to acceptable international standards.

In that regard, they state that they have tried to reach out to other countries that not only have the economic muscle to develop the drug but also the technical know-how.

“We take this opportunity to inform you that we have seen the measures taken by the American presidents to combat diabetes and cancer, and we are appealing to the current U.S. president, Joe Biden, for assistance in the vital research necessary in this matter,” the letter reads.

In a separate letter of appeal to President Biden, the elders say they have seen the United States get involved in research programs that are beyond its borders; therefore, they should take an interest in Ssenfuka’s project.

For over 50 years now, the United States has been involved in research and innovations that aim to get a cure for both diabetes and cancer. Even when monumental breakthroughs have been made in the treatment of cancer and diabetes, a total cure is yet to be found.

“The knowledge gained through various research programs has benefited not only US citizens but also the whole world. It is in this spirit that we propose and request that you extend your presidential prerogative in these matters beyond your country’s federal limits to include funding a collaborative campaign with your country’s vast biotech industrialists… We are convinced that Congress would foster such collaborations to build upon the remarkable success Ssenfuka has already achieved and change the complexion of the fight against these deadly diseases,” the letter reads in part.

In an interview with Justice Katutsi, who was the first high-profile Ugandan to testify to the efficacy of Ssenfuka’s diabetes drugs, he said he would support any effort that would see the drug developed.

“I wrote to the permanent secretary in the ministry of Health [Dr Diana Atwine], and I told her that there is somebody who has helped me; can you help him develop the drug? But she has never responded. I’m okay because of Ssenfuka’s drugs. I had to tell Ugandans and the world at large. What he is trying to do is very good, because I’m very sure that if that medicine is processed properly, it will save a lot of people. If there is a disease killing people, then it must be eradicated,” Katutsi said.