Did you know that according to the World Health Organization, approximately 400,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer yearly? Moreover, beyond 1,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each day.
Unfortunately, the probability of survival of a child diagnosed with cancer is dependent on its residing country. As children living in low or middle-income countries have limited access to healthcare services, their survival rate is low by 20% while children located in high-income countries have 80% likelihood of surviving.
As Childhood Cancer Awareness Month is observed annually every September, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer has been launched on the same month in year 2018. Its main objectives are a) to increase capacity of countries to provide quality services for children with cancer, and b) increase prioritization of childhood cancer at the global, regional, and national levels.
Philippines have been 1 out of 10 countries selected as its focused countries upon implementation. Also, our country has committed its support to ameliorate childhood cancer care and its outcomes.
The CureAll Technical Package aims to pinpoint the four key pillars (CURE) and three Global Initiative enablers (ALL) specifically:
C: enters of excellence and care networks with enough trained workers to deliver services;
U: niversal health coverage for comprehensive and essential quality services;
R: egimens and roadmaps for diagnosis and treatment – to aid delivery of quality services through evidence-based technologies and medicines;
E: valuation and monitoring. Robust information systems and research will ensure effective implementation, quality assurance and constant improvement
A: dvocacy
L: everaged financing
L: inked governance
NNC MIMAROPA is in one with the ambition of WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer in achieving at least 60% survival rate and to reduce suffering for all children with cancer by 2030. Through joint efforts of various sectors, we can augment a superior future for children with cancer and save one (1) million children with cancer in the next decade.
Written by: NO I Nichole Loyola
Reference:
World Health Organization. (2020). WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer: An Overview. Accessed from https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/documents/health-topics/cancer/who-childhood-cancer-overview-booklet.pdf
