The country signs an agreement to join the GPACCM on Wednesday

KATHMANDU, March 28: Nepal will be receiving 35 types of childhood cancer medicines free of cost for the next four years, with the country joining the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines (GPACCM).

Nepal is one of the six countries worldwide and the only one in the World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region selected by the GPACCM platform to participate in this novel initiative.

The Ministry of Health and Population, in this regard, signed an agreement with the WHO on Wednesday. The global platform is an initiative by St Jude Global and WHO to increase access to lifesaving childhood cancer medicines in low- and middle-income countries.

With the agreement into effect, the WHO will be providing technical support to strengthen the supply chain system and healthcare facilities to ensure the effective distribution of the medicines. UNICEF is the procurement partner of the GPACCM Platform and will be involved in the procurement of the medicines and delivering them to the port of entry.

The first batch of medicines is expected to arrive in the country by the third quarter of 2024 and will be used for the treatment of childhood cancer in the four participating health institutions namely: Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital, BP Koirala Cancer Hospital, Kanti Children’s Hospital and Patan Hospital. According to the WHO, the facility will be expanded to the shared care center hospitals as needs arise in the future.

Each year, an estimated 900 children are diagnosed with cancer in Nepal. However, only about one-third of childhood cancer cases receive treatment, primarily due to constraints such as limited access to services and resource scarcity, resulting in increased deaths.

Rajesh Sambhajirao Pandav, WHO Representative to Nepal, said the innovative platform will help enhance access to cancer care by addressing medicine availability issues and ensure that children who need essential cancer medications can access them. “It also helps reduce the financial burden placed upon parents and families of children with cancer.”

Roshan Pokhrel, secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population, said initially, the medicines received through the platform will be provided to four government hospitals, which will be expanded to other hospitals on a need basis.

Nepal stepped into the global spotlight in 2020 as a focus country for the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) which aims to improve outcomes for children with cancer around the world and reach at least 60 percent survival rate for children with cancer by 2030. At present, the survival rate of children with cancer is only 20-30 percent in low and middle-income countries compared to over 80 percent in high-income countries, according to the WHO.

 
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