The burden of both infection and non-infection related cancers is increasing in Africa. Clinical outcomes for many of these cancers are poor with late case detection as one of the main contributing factors. There is evidence that in many cases, late diagnosis is not purely due to late patient presentation, but the many barriers within health and social systems that make it difficult for patients to access care. The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not spared Africa. Many countries experienced three waves of increased cases and at each time had to institute measures that disrupted care and diagnosis for cancer cases. Many health institutions downsized outpatient and non-emergency services in order to deal with the rising burden of COVID-19 cases. The largest referral hospital in Zambia for example, closed all its outpatient clinics, in order to concentrate on medical emergencies and COVID-19 admissions. In Cameron, the cervical cancer screening programme was suspected as it was considered inappropriate to expose women and healthcare providers to the risk of COVID-19. These are two examples among many in several Africa countries, instituted to combat the epidemic. However, an accurate assessment of the impact of COVID-19 and its related measures on cancer has not been done in many African countries. This knowledge gap offers a great opportunity to understand barriers of access to cancer care particularly among rural communities on the continent, who are most affected. Both prospective and retrospective analyses should be conducted to provide this information. The link between cancer and COVID-19 and/or its vaccination programme also needs to be investigated. There is need to clearly outline the best time for COVID-19 vaccinations in cancer patients receiving either curative or palliative care.