ISLAMABAD: In connection with childhood cancer awareness month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has renewed its commitment to partnering with Pakistan to give every child a chance to defeat the disease, reminding the public that childhood cancer is curable and early diagnosis and treatment are vital for the survival of more than 8,000 children diagnosed annually in Pakistan.
‘Most types of childhood cancer can be cured with generic medicines and other forms of treatment such as surgery and radiotherapy. It is estimated that 400,000 children develop cancer each year globally. In highincome countries, where comprehensive services are generally accessible, more than 80pc of children with cancer are cured. However, in most low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), less than 30pc recover, meaning that 7 out of 10 children affected by cancer do not survive, in many cases due to a lack of access to quality treatment and medicines’, claimed a statement issued by WHO.
Moreover, it said that to strengthen access to lifesaving treatment, WHO and Pakistan’s health ministry are working together to provide quality-assured childhood cancer medicines free of cost through the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines.
Four Pakistani hospitals are already partnering with WHO to complete, between the end of the year and the first quarter of 2027, the final preparations required before receiving the medicines.
Seven additional hospitals are expected to implement technical recommendations through 2027, so that they are ready to receive the supplies. The ultimate goal is to provide free, quality-assured medicines to all hospitals providing childhood cancer treatment in Pakistan. On 29 July 2025, WHO and the Ministry of Health formalised Pakistan’s participation in the Global Platform.
Pakistan became the second country in the Eastern Mediterranean Region to join the Global Platform, cofounded in 2021 by St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and WHO to provide an uninterrupted supply of certified childhood cancer medicines to low-and middle-income countries.
The initiative works in collaboration with the PAHO Strategic Fund and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), which will be responsible for procuring medicines and delivering them to Pakistan. The agreement aims to increase the survival rate of children from 30pc to 60pc by 2030.