Strengthening public health policies for childhood cancer: Peru’s achievements through the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer

• Published in: Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública
• Main Authors: Essy Maradiegue, Claudia Pascual, Liliana Vasquez, Ivan Maza, Cecilia Ugaz, Jackeline Montoya, Arturo Zapata, Henry García, Sharon Chavez, Katy Ordoñez, Jonathan Rossi, Rosdali Diaz, Roxana Morales, Viviana Trigoso, Romy Ames, Edinho Celis, Isela Barzola, Liliana Torres, Melitta Cosme, Fanny Tarrillo, Ninoska Rojas, Carlos Santillan, Yuly Quispe, Víctor Palacios, Victoria Godoy, Mariela Tello, Duniska Tarco, Antonio Wachtel, Estela Malaver, Elizabeth Diaz, Marlene Goyburu, Vivian Perez, Ivy Talavera, Maria Edith Baca, Mauricio Maza, Lily Saldaña, Alexis Holguin, Marta Jarquin, Patricia Loggetto, Monika Metzger, Paola Friedrich, Cath Lam, Carlos Rodriguez Galindo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2023
• Subjects: neoplasms; prevention & control; child health; health programs and plans; health policy; peru; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2023.132; https://doaj.org/article/fd11c30ca6194c1e8c3b1fa5ffba1970

Objective. To report the progress in Peru, since June 2019, in the implementation of the World Health Organization Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer using the CureAll framework, which can be replicated in low- and middle-income countries. Methods. A mixed method was used of participatory and documentary evaluation. The participatory evaluation included stakeholders from various government institutions, nonprofit organizations, and international partners. The documentary aspect consisted of a review of data on the regulatory environment, national projects, and interventions implemented. The Ministry of Health engaged more than 150 participants to form working committees, which have developed policy and regulatory documents to strengthen care services. Results. Achievements include a decrease in the national treatment abandonment rate from 18.6% to 8.5%, the approval of the Childhood Cancer Law, improvements in the management of patients with febrile neutropenia, and a reduction in rates of events of clinical deterioration and mortality of hospitalized patients. The Cure All implementation framework allows local teams to implement specific strategies and monitor early outcomes in pediatric oncology. Conclusions. The results obtained reflect the teamwork, the leadership of the authorities, the technical support of professionals, and the support of involved organizations. Further actions will be needed to guarantee sustainability, and monitoring tools are needed to assure success in the planned activities.