NORA Summer School 2025 - Abuja, Nigeria
The Summer School took place in Abuja, Nigeria, from October 8–15, 2025, demonstrating a collective commitment to strengthening cancer prevention & control systems across Africa by generating evidence that improves cancer outcomes for women in Sub-Saharan Africa. This multinational, multi-site summer school provided PhD candidates with a valuable opportunity to deepen their scientific expertise and broaden their global research networks. The program brought together leading experts and trainees from diverse disciplines, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. By engaging with international peers and mentors, participants gained fresh perspectives, built lasting partnerships, and strengthened their capacity to contribute to globally relevant oncology research.

From ideas to impact: Our team presented at the AORTIC 2025 Conference, held in Hammamet, Tunisia (2–5 November 2025).

The event, themed “Advancing Cancer Care Across Africa: Equity Through Empowering Research and Education,” brought together leading experts, clinicians, and researchers working to improve cancer care across the continent.
Our senior team members, researchers, oncologists and PhD fellows delivered oral presentations and poster sessions, sharing impactful research and contributing to important discussions on cancer care, research, and capacity building in Africa.

The Federal Ministry of Health, in collaboration with Addis Ababa University, the Network of Oncology Researchers in Africa (NORA) Initiative, and the Addis Ababa Population-Based Cancer Registry, successfully hosted the launch event for Ethiopia’s National Cancer Registry (NCR) and National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) on August 30, 2025, at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa. 

The ceremony brought together representatives from government institutions, academia, healthcare providers, and international organizations. Professor Andualem Deneke, Chief Executive Director of the College of Health Sciences at Addis Ababa University, opened the event by welcoming the distinguished guests and highlighting the importance of a unified national approach to cancer control.

A series of insightful presentations followed, delivered by leading experts in the field, including:

Dr. Hiwot, Lead Executive Officer for Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health
Dr. Selamawit Ayele, Desk Lead for Disease Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health
Dr. Mathiwos Assefa, Senior Oncologist and Head of the Addis Ababa Population-Based Cancer Registry
Dr. Adamu Addisie, Principal Investigator for the NORA and REACCT-CAN initiatives.

One of the event’s major highlights was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Health and six leading universities: Addis Ababa University, University of Gondar, Haramaya University, Hawassa University, Mekelle University, and Jimma University. This agreement underscores a strong national commitment to expanding cancer registries and strengthening cancer research infrastructure across Ethiopia.

The third round of the stakeholder meeting for the Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) and Navigation Intervention Implementation Mapping Study took place on September 22, 2025, at Yaden Hotel in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. The meeting was organized by the NORA Initiative at Addis Ababa University (AAU), in collaboration with Martin Luther University. It brought together a multidisciplinary group of participants, including representatives from hospitals, regional health bureaus, and partner organizations, to share updates on the study’s progress and collaboratively address implementation challenges.

Guideline Finalization Workshop on Integrating Mental Health into Cancer Care

September 23–25, 2025 | Robi Hotel, Adama, Ethiopia

From September 23–25, 2025, a workshop was held in Adama to finalize Guideline for Integrating Mental Health in Cancer Care. The event was organized by the Ministry of Health (MoH) in partnership with Addis Ababa University (AAU), through the NORA, REACCT-CAN, EKCC Projects, and Martin Luther University.

The workshop brought together a multidisciplinary team of professionals to collaboratively finalize a framework that integrates psychosocial support into routine cancer care. Institutions represented included Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, St. Paul’s, Jimma University Medical Center, University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, and Hiwot Fana Hospital.

Presented by Dr. Leul, the guideline includes 10 chapters covering key areas like: Emotional and psychological support for patients and caregivers, standardized referral pathways, community-based, infrastructure and human resource needs, Research and Monitoring & Evaluation frameworks. The guideline is developed with the goal of ensuring all cancer patients receive dignified, resilient, and culturally appropriate mental health support.

A key feature of the three-day workshop was the collaborative review of the draft guideline, designed to ensure that the final version would be practical, context-specific, and widely supported by professionals from diverse fields.

Participants were divided into five thematic working groups; each assigned a specific set of chapters from the draft guideline. Over the course of two working sessions (afternoon of Day 1 and morning of Day 2), each group engaged in intensive discussions reviewing their assigned chapters line-by-line. 

On Day 2 and 3, each group presented their findings and proposed revisions to the full assembly. The presentations sparked rich cross-group exchange of ideas, with participants offering further suggestions and reflections based on their own expertise.

Following the presentations, each group was tasked with finalizing their assigned chapters, incorporating feedback from the plenary discussion and submitting the revised sections to the guideline compilation team.

This structured, inclusive process not only strengthened the technical content of the guideline but also built a strong sense of ownership and shared commitment among stakeholders laying a solid foundation for successful national implementation.

The NORA-REACCT summer school began on 19 October 2024 in Cape Town. The AFCRN was officially opened at 9:00 a.m. at Hotel Sky, while the NORA summer school commenced as scheduled at 9:00 a.m. at the Cullinan Hotel. This meeting summary highlights the events and discussions from both the NORA summer school sessions and subsequent joint meetings.

The session at the Cullinan Hotel began with an opening speech by Dr. Adamu Adisse, while Prof. Eva led the AFCRN opening at Hotel Sky. Dr. Adisse delivered a warm welcome, and leaders from the South African team also greeted participants. The program then moved to concurrent sessions, with RT working groups divided among four breakout rooms—Protea 1, Protea 2, Aloe, and Lily—where RT students delivered presentations.

Research talks Presentations:

ü  Dr. Adamu Adissie: Presented "Ethics and Team Working," discussing the ethics of research conduct and sharing his perspective as an “ethicist.” Moderated by Prof. Blandina.

ü  Dr. Mirgessa Kaba: Presented "Leveraging the NORA-REACTCAN Research Programs in Producing Impactful Research." The talk included a 10-minute presentation followed by a Questions &Answers .

ü  After a tea break, research talks resumed:

ü  Dr. Muluken Gizaw: Presented on "Health System Barriers and Facilitators for Cervical Cancer Screening Uptake: The Case in Ethiopia," discussing a recent thesis from a NORA student.

ü  Dr. Mazvita Muchengeti: Presented "HIV and Cancer in South Africa."

ü  Dr. Nejat Ahmed: Discussed "Cytology in Women’s Cancer Screening and Diagnosis," covering liquid-based cytology, digital pathology, and AI.

ü  Dr. Brhanu Teka: Presented on "Triage Tests for High-Risk HPV Positive Women and Implementation Opportunities in Low-Resource Settings."

ü  Each talk was followed by a 10-minute Q&A, with discussions extending for 30 minutes. Dr. Alex Mermi moderated this session.

ü  Abigya Wondimagegnu presented on using country-specific resources for psychosocial and end-of-life care in Ethiopia, especially for cervical and breast cancer patients.

ü  Workshop: Dr. Pablo Santos held a REDCap workshop for participants in need of training.