CANCaRe Africa shared on LinkedIn:
“Today marks the start of our Zero Abandonment working meeting in Jimma, Ethiopia!
Over the coming days, we will bring together a multidisciplinary group of 12 participants, including doctors, nurses, data managers, parent support advocates and fundraisers. Most participants are from Africa, bringing a wealth of local experience and perspectives.
Thank you to our host Diriba Fufa and programme leader Trijn Israels for organising this meeting.
Our objectives are to celebrate the impact and successful implementation of the cash transfer family support programme in Phase I, share our results and lessons learned with the wider global community, and work together towards sustainability and scaling up in Phase II, in collaboration with new and existing partners.
Together, we can take the next steps towards zero treatment abandonment.”
About the Zero Abandonment Programme
CANCaRe Africa’s Zero Abandonment Cash Transfer Programme is designed to reduce financial barriers that can prevent children with cancer from completing treatment.
The approach provides financial support to families facing costs related to travel, food, accommodation and other expenses associated with accessing cancer care.
A 2026 multicentre study involving 370 children in Ethiopia and Uganda found an overall treatment-abandonment risk of 43% before the intervention.
Two-year event-free survival was 28% when treatment abandonment was counted as an event, compared with 59% when abandonment cases were censored, highlighting its major impact on childhood cancer outcomes.
You can also read: WHO Flags Six Essential Childhood Cancer Medicines Facing Critical Access Gaps
