By Quin Orwa-Juma

On June 10, the university community gathered for a thought-provoking colloquium titled “Indigenous Languages in Cancer Care: Lessons from the Luo Community in Homa Bay County.” The presentation by Dr. Quin shed light on the powerful intersection of language, culture, and healthcare, drawing specifically from the experiences of the Luo community in Homa Bay County. She drew attention to one of the most urgent global health concerns today, cancer, and other non-communicable diseases, emphasized that for meaningful change to happen in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), we must localize how we talk about it.

“Indigenous languages are not just tools of communication,” she noted. “They are portals into people’s worldviews, values, and behaviours. Ignoring them in public health is not only a missed opportunity, it’s a dangerous oversight.”

Her research, anchored in the Health Belief Model and the culture-centred approach, found that communication in Dholuo, the language of the Luo people, significantly improves patient understanding, emotional connection, and willingness to seek early diagnosis and treatment. Across interviews and focus groups discussions in Homabay County, cancer patients and caregivers described Dholuo, their mother tongue, as the “language of trust” when discussing sensitive issues like prostate, breast, and cervical cancer that touches on their ‘person’.

According to the study, over 95% of doctors confirmed that language choice directly affects patient outcomes. Despite this, only 27% reported using Dholuo in healthcare settings—highlighting a pressing disconnect between health policy and practice.

Quoting the World Health Organization (WHO), she stated that in order to have a successful cancer prevention, treatment, and palliative care, effective communication between healthcare providers and patients is crucial. Still anchoring her argument to WHO, she noted that using indigenous languages in public health communication is essential to ensuring that health messages are understood, culturally relevant, and effective in reaching and empowering communities to take control of their health.

The session concluded with a call to action, where she urged institutions and policymakers to integrate indigenous languages like Dholuo and the other 60+ indigenous languages spoken in Kenya and the rest of Africa into health education campaigns, patient outreach, and training of healthcare providers. Dr. Quin’s compelling presentation not only highlighted the vital role of language in shaping health outcomes but also reminded the academic community of its power to amplify culturally grounded solutions.