Abstract
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation have teamed up with Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers and Baylor College of Medicine on a $100 million initiative to improve pediatric cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa. Organizers are partnering with local governments to increase access to specialty care in countries where the mortality rate from cancer in children is as high as 90%.
To improve pediatric cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa, a $100 million initiative has been launched by the Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Foundation in partnership with Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers and Baylor College of Medicine's International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI), both in Houston. Working with the governments of Botswana, Uganda, and Malawi, the Global Hematology–Oncology Pediatric Excellence (HOPE) project aims to improve access to care and outcomes for thousands of children with cancer and other blood disorders.
“Many children in sub-Saharan Africa develop cancers and blood disorders that are treatable but often aren't even diagnosed,” says John Damonti, president of the BMS Foundation. “If we can create model programs and build health care capacity locally and regionally, we could really start to turn the tide.”
A patient high-fives Alan Anderson, MD, after a check-up following treatment for kidney cancer. A pediatric oncologist from Texas Children's Hospital, Anderson will help train about 4,800 African healthcare professionals as part of Global HOPE.
BMS has committed $50 million over 5 years to establish pediatric hematology–oncology training programs and build two pediatric oncology centers—one in Botswana and the other in Uganda. Texas Children's Hospital and BIPAI have pledged to raise an additional $50 million. Eventually, Global HOPE plans to develop centers in seven countries.
More than 100,000 children in sub-Saharan Africa are diagnosed with cancer each year and up to 90% die from their disease—compared with an 80% cure rate in about 15,000 children who develop cancer in the United States annually, according to the BMS Foundation. Currently, there are only five pediatric oncologists across Botswana, Uganda, and Malawi combined.
“This is a major training initiative aimed at educating local pediatricians to become hematology–oncology specialists,” says David Poplack, director of Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers. “It could have a transformative impact in these countries by curing more children. In addition, it will provide an ongoing supply of highly specialized pediatric hematology–oncology providers and advocates for pediatric cancer care.”
About 4,800 local health care professionals are expected to receive training through Global HOPE, says Poplack. Uganda's Ministry of Health has already enlisted the initiative to run its oncology fellowship program at Mulago Hospital and the Uganda Cancer Institute in the capital city of Kampala, and organizers hope to form similar partnerships in other countries.
“Global HOPE will also establish a pediatric oncology network to promote sharing of best practices,” says Poplack. “The eventual goal is to establish a coordinated clinical trials network among participating countries.”
Damonti adds that Global HOPE is modeled on a previous collaboration between BMS and BIPAI that helped establish HIV treatment centers in Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Uganda, and Tanzania, in partnership with local governments. Since 2003, this network has trained 52,000 health care providers and now provides care for nearly 300,000 affected children.
“The $100 million we're committing now will have a big impact, but there will still be a lot of unmet needs,” says Damonti. “As with HIV, we hope to boost local capacity and create model programs that participating countries can follow so that, eventually, they will become self-sustaining.” –Janet Colwell
For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/early/by/section.
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