KATHMANDU, Feb 17: Nepal has received a new supply of medication for childhood cancer treatment under the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines initiative. The first phase of essential cancer drugs for children arrived on Sunday.
Dr Prakash Budhathoki, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health and Population, confirmed that Nepal received 10 types of medications in the first phase. The World Health Organization (WHO) Nepal office reported that more than 2,300 packs of pediatric cancer medicine have reached the country.
The WHO Nepal office, in coordination with St Jude Children's Research Hospital, procured these medicines and provided them to Nepal free of cost.
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In 2021, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and WHO jointly launched the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines to ensure children worldwide receive life-saving cancer drugs. Last December, the Nepal government pledged free cancer treatment for children under 14 at four hospitals.
Dr Budhathoki stated that children undergoing treatment at Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, Kanti Children's Hospital, Patan Academy of Health Sciences, and Bharatpur Cancer Hospital will receive these medicines at no cost.
WHO estimates that Nepal records nearly 900 new cases of childhood cancer each year. However, due to medication shortages and other challenges, only one-third of these children receive proper treatment.
In 2020, WHO included Nepal in its Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, and in 2022, Nepal became one of six countries worldwide and the only one in WHO’s Southeast Asia region selected for the Global Platform.In March 2024, Nepal signed an agreement to implement the program, securing a continuous five-year supply of 35 essential high-quality cancer medicines for children.
According to WHO, Nepal's childhood cancer survival rate remains below 30 percent, while in high-income countries, it exceeds 80 percent.
