Kyrgyzstan joins Global Initiative to fight childhood cancer
The National Center for Maternal and Child Health was selected as the country's focal health organization and entered the international program Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, Kabar reports.
According to the Ministry of Health, this program allows Kyrgyzstan to improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer and improve access to affordable and essential medicines and technologies, and social support for families of children with cancer.
The initiative aims to increase global childhood cancer survival to at least 60% by 2030. Five years after the launch of the Global Initiative to Fight Childhood Cancer, more than 70 countries in six WHO regions have demonstrated improvements in care for children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries, perhaps with strong political will , multi-sectoral commitments and strategic investments.
Pediatric cancer is a serious and pressing public health problem. It is the ninth leading cause of childhood illness in the world, according to the Global Burden of Disease study. Almost 80% of all children diagnosed with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries where treatment is often unavailable, prompting the United Nations General Assembly to launch the Global Initiative to Fight Childhood Cancer.