Improving paediatric oncology outcomes – World Child Cancer

With only a quarter of children who develop cancer in Bangladesh each year ever receiving a diagnosis and as few as 45% of those surviving, World Child Cancer’s three-year UK Aid Match project has been working across the country to improve access (to treatment), care and quality of life.

In Bangladesh, the long-term treatment required when a child has a cancer diagnosis often pushes an entire family further into poverty. This project’s focus has been on strengthening the health system and working across the seven leading government paediatric cancer units to ensure long term change is affected so those that benefit from it will not just be the thousands of children, their families and health workers, but also children who are diagnosed with cancer in future years and their families.

It was evident from the visit that the project is operating within a resource-constraint environment, and the COVID-19 pandemic significantly worsened the situation for children with cancer in Bangladesh given the additional pressures on the health care system and limited mobility (as the majority of available care is in Dhaka city). The project team have adapted well as a result but the challenges associated with health care service delivery following the pandemic appeared to continue. Despite these challenges, the project has been able to introduce psychosocial support, which was not previously an element of the care offering and has evidently provided much needed support to children and families in their cancer journey.

Photo Info: The UK Aid Match team from MannionDaniels and FCDO, with World Child Cancer and ASHIC at their Shelter providing accommodation for families undergoing care in Dhaka city.