700 health care workers received training and mentorship in how to manage cases of childhood cancer and 1,800 were trained in detecting early warning signs and symptoms of childhood cancer. TV and radio broadcasts reached 15 million people in Cameroon, Ghana, and Malawi with information about what to look out for and messaging about the importance of seeking medical care quickly and, critically, the fact that childhood cancer is curable. As Mirabel tells other parents, “If my child is a survivor, any child can survive.”

Social and financial support from World Child Cancer helped more than 3,000 kids get and stay in treatment, and 89% of those they surveyed said they would have struggled to pursue treatment without this financial support.

Natural and manmade catastrophes from armed conflict to cholera outbreaks to Cyclone Freddy posed serious obstacles getting kids the treatment they need, which were reflected in setbacks the organizations experienced against its goals, yet durable improvements have been achieved. In Ghana, for instance, following advocacy efforts by World Child Cancer and partners, the government has committed that its national health insurance would cover treatment for four common types of childhood cancer.

Access to quality health care is a major focus for SNF, particularly through the ongoing Global Health Initiative (GHI), which includes partnerships to help expand cancer care for children with the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center in Jordan and Sant Joan de Déu Pediatric Cancer Center in Barcelona. “Every child should have access to the quality health care they need—and, as fundamentally, to the resources needed to identify serious conditions like cancer early,” said SNF Program Officer Ange Munyakazi.

Whereas Mirabel initially saw no options for Esi, her future now seems wide open. “I do not see anything that will disrupt her future because of one eye; she herself will choose what she wants to do in life.”

*Mirabel and Esi’s names have been changed for their privacy.