James R. Downing: Delivering lifesaving cancer medicines to children in LMICS
James R. Downing, President and Chief Executive Officer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, posted on LinkedIn:
“Today, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the World Health Organization reached an important milestone in delivering lifesaving cancer medicines to children in low- and middle-income countries through the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines. Currently, these medicines are being delivered to Mongolia and Uzbekistan, with the next shipments planned for Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal and Zambia. This is a major step towards a day when no child will die in the dawn of life.
This year, 400,000 children around the world will develop cancer, mostly in limited-resource countries. Half of these children will die undiagnosed. Of the remaining 200,000, seven out of 10 children will ultimately die due to disrupted or low-quality medicines or because they receive no treatment at all.
The Global Platform will work with partners, including UNICEF, Pan American Health Organization, International Society of Paediatric Oncology – SIOP, and Childhood Cancer International to provide children around the world with the lifesaving cancer medicines they need at no cost to their families or to their countries.
I’ve spent nearly four decades at St. Jude, where our mission has always been to advance cures and means of prevention for children with catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Our hope is that this platform will eventually provide medicine to 120,000 children in more than 50 countries.
Hospital founder Danny Thomas’ vision was that no child would be denied treatment based on race, religion or the ability to pay. We believe that extends to every child, everywhere. With your support, as well as the support of our partners, we will one day make Danny’s dream come true.
I encourage you to learn more about the Global Platform and share this important milestone.”
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