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December 14,2021
Anna Murray
Children in low- and middle-income countries around the world will now have considerably wider access to cancer drugs thanks to a collaboration between St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and the World Health Organization (WHO). St. Jude has pledged US$200 million over six years to kick-start the program, which is officially known as the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines. The collaboration will ensure an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured childhood cancer drugs.
This initiative, which was evolved out of the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, assists more than 50 governments in developing and sustaining local cancer programs. The platform works in tandem with the Global Initiative, with operations carried out as part of this new endeavor expected to significantly contribute to the attainment of the Initiative's objectives. The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines is part of St. Jude's six-year strategic plan, which aims to accelerate global progress on catastrophic childhood diseases through the institution's greatest investment in research and patient care.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a world leader in childhood cancer research and treatment, as well as other life-threatening pediatric disorders. St. Jude is the only Comprehensive Cancer Center for Children approved by the National Cancer Institute. Since the hospital's founding in 1962, treatments developed at St. Jude have helped increase the survival rate of children with cancer in the United States from 20% to 80%. St. Jude's mission is expanding to help more children all around the world.
St. Jude and the WHO launched the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer in 2018, with the goal of increasing survival rates for the most common kinds of childhood cancer to 60% by 2030. The St. Jude Global Alliance is a worldwide network dedicated to improving care and increasing survival rates for children with cancer and blood disorders.