Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines
About this community
Exchange knowledge. Build partnerships. Scale up.
Our goals to improve survival will only be achieved with a strong community of practice.
- Exchange knowledge: providing educational tools, implementation experience and evidence-based best practices that contribute to targeted country support.
- Build partnerships: building and cultivating an active network of Global Platform participants working together to support national priorities defined by the Ministries of Health.
- Scale up: serving as an innovation forum where state and non-state actors present proposals and new approaches to support the implementation and expansion of the Global Platform.
Join and discover the community to learn more or contact us for questions and support.
Building on the successes of the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer
The establishment of the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines was driven by the successes of the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC). WHO partnered with St. Jude Children’s Hospital in this endeavor to dramatically increase sustained access to quality-assured essential cancer medicine for all children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), in collaboration with UNICEF and PAHO’s Strategic Fund as procurement partners, thereby covering WHO’s global country membership.
It is anticipated that the Global Platform will – in conjunction with the synergistic work of the GICC – radically alter the landscape of access to essential medicines for children with cancer.
How does the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines work?
The Global Platform aims to provide an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured childhood cancer medicines with end-to-end support from selecting to distributing medicines according to the best possible care standards. The Global Platform will:
- Initially purchase and distribute medicines for childhood cancer at no cost to recipient countries.
- Distribute medicines of assured quality and efficacy. The list of medicines that the Global Platform will procure was selected through a rigorous process.
- Reinforce political commitment for childhood cancer control and support governments to safeguard families of children with cancer.
- Provide readiness support in advance of delivery of medicines, including assisting national stakeholders as they develop a tailored implementation roadmap.
- Take innovative approaches to shape the market for childhood cancer medicines to avoid interruptions in supply and promote timely regulatory approvals.
What makes the Global Platform unique?
A number of programs for improving access to cancer medicines have been developed over the past decade. The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines is the largest in scope and most comprehensive in approach. The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines brings St. Jude, WHO, UNICEF, PAHO SF, governments, the pharmaceutical industry, non-governmental organizations, and nonprofit sector decision makers together in a truly collaborative spirit to co-design a platform that will be sustainable. It is unique in its size and scope, catalyzed by a commitment from St. Jude that will restructure the market to better respond to the needs of children with cancer and their providers. We believe this platform not only will transform access to childhood cancer medicines but also will serve as a model for the broader global health community in how we might work together to address these challenges in access to care for non-communicable diseases.
Key Messages
Each year, approximately 400 000 children develop cancer.
Close to 90% of these children live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where survival rates are less than 30%. This is in stark contrast to high-income countries, where survival rates exceed 80%. WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) aims to achieve a global survival of at least 60% for children with cancer, while ensuring that the suffering of all these children is reduced.
Access to childhood cancer medicines is a major obstacle to the survival for children with cancer in LMICs.
Many childhood cancer hospitals, particularly in LMICs, struggle to achieve consistent access to reasonably priced, safe, effective, and standard quality medicines for their patients. Children lack access to essential curative treatments, or experience prolonged interruptions in therapy, thus increasing their risk of treatment failure and death. In 2019, governments in 29% of LICs and 64% of lower-middle-income countries consistently reported the unavailability of cancer medicines to the general population.
A Global Platform with active country participation.
Ecuador, Jordan, Mongolia, Nepal, Uzbekistan, and Zambia joined the Global Platform in 2023 as the first cohort of pilot countries. The second cohort of countries will be announced in 2025. The Global Platform anticipates up to fifty countries joining in the years ahead. More information on how countries join the Global Platform can be found here.
An effective market for childhood cancer medicines is constrained by complex, interrelated systemic factors.
Market fragmentation, lack of availability of essential medicines, low-quality products, and high purchasing costs are among many of the challenges today. The availability of essential cancer medicines around the globe is inconsistent due to supply and demand issues and complicated regulations. The quality of medicines is threatened when governments and administrations favor the lowest-cost bids. The cost of childhood cancer medicines is often excluded from budgets, creating financial hardship for families in LMICs.
The solution lies in co-designing a sustainable model.
The Global Platform brings together WHO, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, UNICEF, he Pan American Health Organization Strategic Fund, governments, the pharmaceutical industry, hospitals, non-governmental organizations, and nonprofit sector decision makers in a truly collaborative spirit to co-design a sustainable model. It will shape the market for childhood cancer medicines, rapidly increase access to care for thousands of children, and serve as a transformative model for the broader global health community.