The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, the first of its kind, will ensure an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured childhood cancer medicines to low- and middle-income countries.
St. Jude is investing $ 200 million over six years to launch the platform, which will provide drugs free of charge to countries participating in the pilot phase. This is the largest financial commitment to date for a global pediatric cancer drug effort.
“Almost nine in ten children with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General ofWHO.
“The survival rate in these countries is less than 30%, compared to 80% in high-income countries. This new platform, which builds on the success of the Global Childhood Cancer Initiative launched with St. Jude in 2018, will help correct this unacceptable imbalance and give hope to several thousand parents facing the challenge. the devastating reality of a child with cancer, ”he added.
© UNICEF / Donaig Le Du
A father rests with his son at the pediatric hospital in Bangui, in the capital of the Central African Republic.
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Affordable, available and good quality cancer drugs
Each year, an estimated 400,000 children worldwide develop cancer. The majority of children living in low- and middle-income countries are unable to obtain or regularly pay for cancer drugs. As a result, nearly 100,000 children die each year.
The new platform aims to deliver safe and effective cancer drugs to around 120,000 children between 2022 and 2027, with the prospect of expansion in the years to come. This platform will provide end-to-end support ̶ consolidating global demand to shape the market; helping countries select drugs; developing treatment standards; and building information systems to monitor that effective care is provided and to stimulate innovation.
“St Jude was founded on the mission to advance the research and treatment of childhood cancer and other catastrophic pediatric diseases. Almost 60 years later, we are alongside the World Health Organization, partner organizations and our Global Alliance collaborators to extend this promise to children around the world, ”said Dr James R Downing, CEO of the hospital center.
“With this platform, we are building the necessary infrastructure so that children around the world have access to safe cancer drugs,” he said.
This innovative approach will open a new chapter in access to cancer care by addressing the availability of medicines in low- and middle-income countries, often complicated by higher prices, interruptions in supply and personal expenses that cause financial hardship.
According to a WHO survey of country capacities on noncommunicable diseases released in 2020, only 29% of low-income countries report that cancer drugs are generally available to their population, compared with 96% of low-income countries. high income. By strengthening the needs of children with cancer globally, the new platform will curb the purchase of substandard and falsified medicines that result from unauthorized purchases and the limited capacity of national regulatory authorities.
© UNICEF/Monique Awad
Ten million children in Afghanistan need humanitarian assistance to survive.
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“If we do not address the shortage and poor quality of cancer drugs in many parts of the world, there will be very few options for curing these children,” said Dr Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, President of the St Jude’s Department of Global Pediatric Medicine and Director of St Jude Global.
“Health care providers need to have access to a reliable source of cancer drugs that are the current standard of care. We in St. Jude, along with our co-founding partners at WHO and many critical partners around the world, can help achieve this goal, ”he said.
“WHO, St Jude and its partners will do their utmost to ensure that children’s access to anticancer drugs is on the right track,” added Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases at WHO.
“WHO is on the ground working with governments to provide support and services so that all children have access to the best possible cancer treatment,” she said.
Pilot phase in 12 countries
In an initial two-year pilot phase, the drugs will be procured and distributed to 12 countries through a process involving governments, cancer centers and nongovernmental organizations already active in providing cancer care. . Discussions are already underway with governments to determine which countries will participate in this pilot phase.
By the end of 2027, 50 countries are expected to receive medicines for childhood cancer through the platform.
“We look forward to working with St. Jude and WHO on this journey to ensure that all children, everywhere, have access to quality cancer medicines. The platform is making a dream come true for our more than 2,600 global members, said Kathy Pritchard-Jones, President of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology, ”said Kathy Pritchard-Jones, President of the International Society of Pediatric Oncology.
“Cancer shouldn’t be a death sentence, no matter where a child lives. By developing this platform, St. Jude is helping families gain access to life-saving medicines for their children. By working together, we can change the fate of children with cancer around the world, ”said João Bragança, President of Childhood Cancer International.
© UNICEF/Karin Schermbrucke
One-year-old Lighton receives her pediatric HIV medicine every day at home in Mbarara, Uganda.
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Continuous collaboration
The World Health Organization and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital first collaborated in 2018, when St. Jude became the first WHO Collaborating Center for Childhood Cancer and committed to contribute $ 15 million for the creation of the Global Initiative against Childhood Cancer.
This Initiative helps more than 50 governments to establish and maintain local cancer control programs and aims to increase the survival rate to 60% by 2030.The platform synergizes with the Global Initiative, the activities implemented as part of this new effort to contribute substantially to the achievement of the Initiative’s objectives.
The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines is part of St. Jude’s six-year strategic plan, which aims to accelerate progress in the fight against catastrophic childhood illnesses globally thanks to the institution’s greater investment in research and patient care.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, is a world leader in the research and treatment of childhood cancer and other life-threatening pediatric diseases.
St. Jude is the only National Cancer Institute designated cancer center dedicated exclusively to children.
Treatments developed in St. Jude have helped increase the survival rate of children with cancer from 20% to 80% in the United States since the hospital opened in 1962. St. Jude expands mission to help more children around the world.
In 2018, St. Jude and the World Health Organization launched the Global Childhood Cancer Initiative to raise the survival rate to 60% by 2030 for the most common forms of childhood cancer. the child. The Global Alliance
St. Jude is a global network with a shared vision to improve the care and increase the survival rates of children with cancer and blood disorders around the world.
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