<\/p>\n
The WHO has released comparable five-year survival estimates for lymphoid leukaemia across 194 countries, creating the first standardised global baseline for childhood cancer survival. \u201cChildhood cancer is one of the clearest indicators of health system performance,\u201d WHO Childhood Cancer Medical Officer Dr Roberta Ortiz said.<\/p>\n
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About 400 000 children and young people aged 19 or younger develop cancer every year.<\/p>\n
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Although most childhood cancers are highly treatable, WHO said survival depended heavily on where patients lived and the strength of national healthcare systems.<\/p>\n
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Survival rates range from 80% to 90% in high-income countries, compared with about 40% in countries where access to diagnosis, medicines and quality care remains limited.<\/p>\n
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The WHO report, Measuring Survival, Driving Change, described the difference as \u201cone of the greatest health inequities of our time\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Europe and the Western Pacific recorded some of the highest estimated survival rates.<\/p>\n
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Africa and parts of the Eastern Mediterranean continued to face major challenges, including delayed diagnosis, shortages of essential medicines and limited access to specialised treatment.<\/p>\n
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Survival also varies considerably by age.<\/p>\n
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The median five-year survival rate for lymphoid leukaemia among children aged 14 and younger is 66.7%. Among adolescents aged 15 to 19, the estimated rate falls to about 39%.<\/p>\n
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WHO said the survival divide affecting adolescents was widest in low-income and middle-income countries.<\/p>\n
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Delayed diagnosis, weak coordination between paediatric and adult health services and limited evidence on adolescent cancer treatment were among the barriers.<\/p>\n
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Older teenagers also experience different forms of cancer from younger children and require care suited to their particular clinical needs. \u201cStrategic investments in infrastructure, training and equitable service delivery can dramatically improve survival,\u201d WHO said.<\/p>\n
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The data will help governments measure progress towards the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer target of increasing overall childhood cancer survival to at least 60% by 2030.<\/p>\n
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Established in 2018, the initiative supports countries in improving diagnosis, treatment access and healthcare capacity.<\/p>\n
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The WHO said using a common methodology across all 194 Member States would allow countries to compare performance, monitor commitments and identify health systems requiring the greatest investment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36841,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-46298","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Children in wealthier countries are more than twice as likely to survive cancer as those in countries with weaker health systems, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).","published_date":"","news_description":"Children in wealthier countries are more than twice as likely to survive cancer as those in countries with weaker health systems, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46299,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/46298\/revisions\/46299"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=46298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}