VOA · As It Is
Intermediate · B1–B2learner speed4:572025-02-12public domain
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01The World Health Organization, WHO, has launched a new service or platform to provide free cancer medicines to thousands of children in less wealthy nations.
02The WHO defines these as low- and middle-income countries.
03The first medicines were to be provided to Mongolia and Uzbekistan.
04The next shipments would go to Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal, and Zambia as part of the project's testing or pilot period, the WHO said.
05The drug treatments are expected to reach around 5,000 children with cancer this year across at least 30 hospitals in the six countries.
06Countries in the pilot phase will receive an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured childhood cancer medicines at no cost, the UN Health Agency said in a statement.
07The WHO said childhood cancer survival rates in low- and middle-income countries were often below 30%.
08That compares to survival rates of around 80% in wealthy nations.
09The agency's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a statement, For too long, children with cancer have lacked access to life-saving medicines.
10He added that the new platform aims to bring health and hope to children around the world.
11El Salvador, Moldova, Senegal, Ghana, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are expected to join the program very soon.
12The platform hopes to reach 50 countries in the next 5 to 7 years, providing medicines for up to 120,000 children.
13The WHO estimates about 400,000 children worldwide develop cancer every year.
14Most of the children live in places with limited resources.
15The agency says about 70% of children in those settings die for several reasons.
16These include the use of low-quality medicines, an inability to get correct treatments, or problems with the supply of treatments.
17The plan to establish the platform was first announced in December 2021.
18It is a cooperative deal between the WHO and St.
19Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States.
20The U.S.
21non-profit treatment and research organization provided $200 million for its launch, the WHO said.
22The WHO called the financial commitment the largest ever made for childhood cancer medicines worldwide.
23It added that the cost-free service would continue beyond the pilot phase.
24The platform is working on developing its sustainability, or ability to continue to provide the service over the longer term.
25Andre Elbowi is with the WHO's Cancer Control Program.
26He told reporters the program seeks to widen the platform and bring additional partners on board.
27This marks the beginning of a global movement to provide children with cancer the medicines that they need, regardless of where they live or their ability to pay, Elbowi said.
28He added that the issue of children with cancer was getting more attention in wealthier countries.
29Childhood cancer is increasingly a leading cause of death for middle- and high-income countries, so governments are increasingly paying attention, Elbowi said.
30I'm John Russell.
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