Advances in the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer: implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Published in: Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública
• Main Authors: Liliana Vásquez, Soad Fuentes-Alabí, Patricia Loggetto, Sara Benitez-Majano, Monika L. Metzger, Marta Jarquin-Pardo, Naomi Echeandia-Abud, Sumit Gupta, Avram Denburg, Paola Friedrich, Roberta Ortiz, Catherine Lam, Silvana Luciani, Andre Ilbawi, Carlos Rodríguez-Galindo, Mauricio Maza
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2023
• Subjects: child health; neoplasms; prevention & control; latin america; caribbean region; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2023.128; https://doaj.org/article/a5bac8a4cdf24494896a6f65480a773b

This report describes the status of childhood cancer control initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Progress between 2017 and 2023 is measured using the outcome indicators from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) childhood cancer logic model aligned with the World Health Organization Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC). This report also describes the advances, barriers, and facilitators for the implementation of the GICC at the Regional level. Methods used in this report encompassed a comprehensive approach, incorporating a literature review, interviews, surveys, and a Delphi study developed by the technical team of the PAHO Non-Communicable Diseases and Mental Health Department and by the GICC LAC working group. Since 2017, there has been a substantial increase in the number of countries that have included childhood cancer in their national regulations. Currently, 21 LAC countries are involved in the GICC implementation, activities, and dialogues. However, the objectives for 2030 will only be achieved if Member States overcome the barriers to accelerating the pace of initiative implementation. There is an urgent need to increase the efforts in childhood cancer control in LAC, especially regarding the prioritization of timely detection, essential diagnostics, access to cancer treatment, palliative care, and close follow-up of children and adolescents with cancer.