On Wednesday January 28, the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and partner sanofi-aventis will announce the recipients of the third My Child Matters (MCM) Initiative Awards. Eight projects will receive funding up to €50,000 each, and all reflect the central aim of the MCM initiative: to fight childhood cancer in developing countries by building treatment capacity. The awards are reported in a News item in published Online First and in an upcoming edition of The Lancet Oncology, written by freelance journalist Adrian Burton.
Childhood cancer is a problem worldwide, but with the most dramatic effects in nations with limited resources. This is unfortunately apparent in the 80/20 divide: about 80% of childhood cancers occur in resource-strapped countries where survival is often 20% or less, whereas in developed countries, the ratio is around 20/80.
In addition to funds, awardees will receive expert guidance from an MCM committee-appointed mentor. The MCM awards provide funding for the next two years, over which time the successes of the past will hopefully be matched. "Nearly five years after it was launched, My Child Matters clearly demonstrates that it is possible to create altogether new types of partnerships to address health challenges that do not receive sufficient attention, such as child cancers in developing countries", says Caty Forget, Senior Director, Humanitarian Partnership, sanofi-aventis (Paris, France).
The eight projects which have won an award are:
1: Burkina Faso
Reinforcing the ability to handle childhood cases of cancer at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Yalgado Ouédraogo and Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Charles de Gaulle: Diarra Ye, Centres Hospitaliers Universitaires de Ouagadougou
2: Colombia
Establishment of a surveillance system for childhood cancer in Cali, Colombia. Luis Eduardo Bravo, Registro Problacional de Cancer de Cali de la Universidad del Valle, Cali
3: Ivory Coast
Refurbishing of a paediatric oncology unit at the University Hospital Centre of Treichville, Abidjan. Andoh Joseph, University Hospital Centre of Treichville, Abidjan
4, 5 & 6:Pakistan
- Childhood tumour registry, Karachi. Yasmin Bhurgri, Karachi Cancer Registry, Karachi
- Outreach training programme for paediatric oncology in Sindh and Balochistan, Pakistan, to improve diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancers. Muhammad Shamvil Ashraf, Children Cancer Foundation Pakistan Trust, Karachi
- Establishment of a paediatric palliative care unit in an oncology department. Agha Shabbir Ali, Department of Oncology and Hematology The Children's Hospital and Institute of Child Health, Lahore
7, 8: Paraguay
- Establishment of a Paraguay Childhood Cancer Network (PCCN) to improve early detection, access to care and treatment in children with cancer. Angélica Samudio, Pediatric Oncology Unit (POU), Mother and Child Center (MCC) of the School of Medicine, National University of Asunción, Asunción
- A bridge for life. Jabibi Noguera, "Ninos de Acosta Ñu" Pediatric General Hospital, Asunción
The News piece concludes: "The problem of childhood cancer in low and middle income countries will remain an unbalanced burden—but hopefully, these awards and their recipients will manage to make some local dents in the 80/20 divide."
Aline Ingwersen, International Union Against Cancer (UICC) (Geneva, Switzerland) +41 809 1878 E) communication@uicc.org
Adrian Burton, freelance journalist, E) adrian@matheny.us
For full News piece see: http://press.thelancet.com/tlonews.pdf
Journal
The Lancet Oncology