Launch of a global effort to tackle huge regional disparities in cancer survival in children



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A Five-year initiative to cure at least 60% of children worldwide with the six most common types of cancer launched Thursday.

Every year, about 300,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with the disease worldwide, but survival rates vary considerably from region to region.

In low- and middle-income countries, where about eight in ten children diagnosed live, the cure rate is estimated at only 20%. Yet, in high-income countries, over 80% of children can hope to survive after a cancer diagnosis.

The initiative, launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and St Jude's Children's Research Hospital in the United States, aims to address this stark contrast in survival rates.

"It's a question of disparity, equity, morality," said Dr. Cherian Varghese, coordinator of noncommunicable disease management at WHO. The telegraph.

"Children around the world should have equal opportunities to access treatment regardless of their country. We must put child cancer on the global agenda. "

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