About us
Every year, over 400,000 children will develop cancer worldwide. While the childhood cancer survival rate is over 80% in high-income countries like the UK, in resource-poor countries it can be as low as 10%.
Misdiagnosis, late diagnosis, or no diagnosis at all are common barriers. The majority of children with cancer will never get to a specialist centre to receive care, treatment or even pain relief. Many families cannot afford the treatment, which is often not covered by local healthcare providers or insurance schemes. Due to families spending long periods of time away from home and travelling great distances to hospital they end up being pushed even further into poverty.
However, fortunately most childhood cancers can be treated with relatively simple and cost effective interventions. World Child Cancer supports ten programmes across Africa, Asia and Central America, helping to improve access to quality treatment and support for children with cancer and their families. We work closely with dedicated professionals in each of our partner countries who drive the development of sustainable cancer programmes.
