The World Health Organisation has launched a new platform providing cost-free cancer medicines for thousands of children living in low- and middle-income countries, whose survival rates are often below 30% compared with around 80% in high-income countries.
The first medicines were being delivered to Mongolia and Uzbekistan, the WHO said, with further shipments planned for Zambia, Ecuador, Jordan and Nepal, as part of the pilot phase.
The treatments are expected to reach around 5 000 children with cancer this year across at least 30 hospitals in those six nations, reports RFI.
“Countries in the pilot phase will receive an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured childhood cancer medicines at no cost," the UN health agency.
A further six countries have been invited to join the platform, which hopes to reach 50 countries in the next five to seven years, providing medicines for around 120 000 children.
Long term plans
Some 400 000 children worldwide develop cancer every year, most of them living in resource-limited settings, the WHO said.
“It is estimated that 70% of the children from these settings die from cancer due to factors like lack of appropriate treatment, treatment disruptions or low-quality medicines.”
The WHO said cost-free provision would continue beyond the pilot phase, and the platform is working on developing its sustainability over the longer term.
It is a joint enterprise between the WHO and St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The non-profit paediatric treatment and research institution has committed $200m to its launch.
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