Blog

Stephanie Shahini: Listening to Communities, Evolving Our Model

Stephanie Shahini/LinkedIn

Dec 4, 2024, 18:44

Stephanie Shahini: Listening to Communities, Evolving Our Model

Stephanie Shahini, Partnerships Manager at City Cancer Challenge Foundation, posted the following on LinkedIn:

“Listening to Communities, Evolving Our Model:

This week, I wrapped up my travels for the year in Asunción, one of City Cancer Challenge’s pioneering cities. Asunción joined C/Can in February 2017, and I began my journey with C/Can in November 2018.

Over the years working with C/Can, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing not only the progress in cities like Asunción, Cali, Porto Alegre, Kumasi, Tbilisi, and Kigali, but also the growth and evolution of C/Can itself. For me, the most significant achievement has been staying true to our mission: responding to the real needs of cities. From our first cities to the current network of 15 cities, we’ve built a strong technical team, leveraged an incredible network of partners, refined our processes, and become far more efficient in scaling our model to new cities. This progress has paved the way for a new chapter, where cities like Rosario, Concepción, Abuja, Nairobi, Greater Petaling, Phnom Penh and León are benefiting from the knowledge and lessons we’ve gained in earlier cities like Asunción.

There’s something irreplaceable about being on the ground in a city. It’s an immersive experience that no report can fully capture. I left Asunción deeply moved by patient stories and humbled by the gratitude of healthcare professionals who value what we’ve built together. What makes it even more rewarding is seeing how the voices and experiences of communities like those in Asunción are now embedded in our strategies for other cities.

As a partnership manager, I’m excited about the next steps—bringing more of our partners into the cities to experience this work firsthand.

Thank you, Alexander Roediger and MSD, for your continued collaboration and for visiting Asunción with us. It was truly inspiring to share this experience and discuss how we can continue addressing the real challenges that LMICs face while evolving our model to maximize impact. As Alexander shared with me: ‘It’s worth more than a million-page report.’

Looking ahead to the next cycle, I’m energized by the potential to support cities in achieving critical outcomes and to share these insights more broadly. We need more partnerships and collaborations to continue opening doors in LMIC communities—communities filled with passion and dedication that are leading comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and multisectoral cancer care solutions that based on our learnings are both ambitious and achievable!. Together, we can make a lasting difference for cancer patients!”

Alexander Roediger,

“Thanks to City Cancer Challenge and the great team behind. It was a unique experience visiting Asunciòn and to see how a vision becomes reality and the impact it has on cancer care.”