Noncommunicable Diseases, Rehabilitation and Disability
We are responsible for leading, coordinating and monitoring global action to cover additional people with health services, medicines, vaccines, diagnostic and health technologies for the prevention, screening, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. We aim to advance health equity for persons with disabilities, we have a focus on sensory impairments and bring together the work on rehabilitation from across the departments and from the 3 levels of the organization.
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Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines

Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines

WHO / Marta Soszynska
Undergoing chemotherapy treatment for a bladder tumour, 8-year-old Leonid had to leave a Kyiv hospital as the shelling escalated. He and his mother Anna set out in search of safety and treatment.
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The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines (Global Platform) aims to provide an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured cancer medicines to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

It is estimated that 400,000 children develop cancer every year. Close to 90% of them live in LMICs, where survival rates are less than 30%. This is in stark contrast to high-income countries, where survival rates exceed 80%. A significant cause of this disparity in survival is insufficient access to quality-assured, safe, effective and affordable medicines for childhood cancer. A number of initiatives for improving access to cancer medicines have been developed over the past decade.

The Global Platform will have the largest reach to children living with cancer of any program to date, anticipating expansion to provide medicines to treat approximately 120,000 children in LMICs.

The Global Platform is made possible through the partnership between St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Strategic Fund.

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