The Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer

Increasing Access, Advancing Quality, Saving Lives

The World Health Organization’s Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC), established in 2018, brings together stakeholders from around the world and across sectors with the joint goal of increasing the survival rate of children with cancer globally to at least 60% by 2030 while reducing their suffering and improving their quality of life.

What began as a courageous call to action has now been elevated to the highest political level: in 2025, childhood cancer and the GICC target were formally recognized as a public health priority and included in the political declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly as the as the outcome of intergovernmental negotiations in advance of and considered by the fourth high-level meeting on NCDs and Mental Health.

WHO and partners are working to achieve this goal by increasing countries’ capacity to provide quality services for children with cancer, and by increasing prioritization of childhood cancer at global, regional and national levels. So far, the initiative has engaged with 87 countries across six WHO regions, with 50 governments successfully integrated childhood cancer into national health strategies.