Alejandra Mendez, Vice President of Childhood Cancer International, recognized among 100 Influential Women in Oncology in 2025 by OncoDaily, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I am deeply proud and grateful to have participated in ‘Delivering on the 60% Target for Children with Cancer: From Commitment to Measurable Impact,’ held on 18 May in Geneva, on the margins of the 79th World Health Assembly, at World Health Organization.
It was an honour to represent Childhood Cancer International (CCI) and, most importantly, the global voice of People With Lived Experience — children, survivors, parents, and families.
In my remarks, I shared a message that is both professional and deeply personal: childhood cancer can be cured, but today the biggest predictor of survival is still geography. Where a child is born and where a child lives should never determine whether that child survives cancer. That is not biology. That is not destiny. It is inequity.
Reaching the 60% survival target by 2030 requires more than commitments and declarations. It requires measurable impact. It requires timely diagnosis, access to essential medicines, trained professionals, quality care, and reliable data. But it also requires transportation, accommodation near hospitals, nutrition, psychosocial support, information, education, and navigation. These are not luxuries — they are essential for survival.
I also emphasized that treatment abandonment or low adherence is not a failure of families. It is a failure of systems. This is why civil society, parent organizations, survivors, and families are not optional voices. We are essential partners in survival.
Thank you to all partners working to transform commitment into action, and action into survival.
Together — truly together — we can save more children’s lives.”
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