WHO Targets Childhood Cancer Medicine Gap in New Strategy

The World Health Organization and its partners launched a new strategy on Sept. 15, 2026 to repair the global market for childhood cancer medicines, aimed at one of the starkest survival gaps in medicine. According to WHO, more than 80 percent of children diagnosed with cancer in high-income countries are cured, compared with fewer than 30 percent in many low- and middle-income countries.

The strategy, titled "Closing the childhood cancer survival gap through sustainable access to essential medicines: market shaping strategy 2026-2030," treats the shortage itself as a market problem, and it is WHO's first market shaping strategy for childhood cancer medicines. An estimated 400,000 children develop cancer each year. Since WHO and partners launched the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer in 2018, nearly 500,000 children in 90 countries have benefited from strengthened care systems, the agency said, yet a child's chance of survival still depends heavily on where they live because access to quality-assured cancer medicines remains limited. The release coincides with Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, as reported by WHO.

A baseline evaluation in 12 countries, conducted before the Global Platform launched, found that only around 45 percent of essential childhood cancer medicines were available in the 51 hospitals visited. Nearly half of the hospitals had been out of stock for at least one month in the previous year, even when the drugs were listed in procurement records. In East Africa, hospitals report frequent stockouts of essential chemotherapy agents, with shortages affecting 32 to 49 percent of critical medicines such as methotrexate and etoposide, according to Inter Press Service.

"Access to childhood cancer medicines depends not only on what medicines exist, but on whether markets are able to deliver them reliably, affordably, and at quality," said Santiago Millan, technical lead for the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines at WHO, in a statement. "This strategy provides a practical roadmap for governments, manufacturers, procurement partners and civil society to work together to build healthier markets and ensure that more children can complete treatment and survive."

Why the medicines don't reach patients

The strategy names two main constraints on childhood cancer medicines worldwide: a fragile and concentrated supplier base for the essential drugs, and fragmented, underfunded demand that creates uncertainty and supply disruptions. Childhood cancer drugs are a small market. Few manufacturers produce them, and hospitals order too little, too unpredictably, for producers to keep supply steady.

To address both sides, the plan lays out ten interlinked interventions. Near-term actions include broadening the quality-assured supplier base, consolidating demand through pooled procurement and published forecasts, and deploying volume guarantees that give manufacturers a reason to keep producing. These steps are meant to create conditions for deeper changes, including regulatory reliance between countries, integration of the medicines into nationally financed benefit packages, and eventually voluntary licensing for newer therapies.

The rollout is sequenced: stabilize supply and consolidate demand in the near term, strengthen market visibility and sustainability from 2027, and support innovation from 2029.

Some of this work is already underway. WHO published its first expression of interest in August 2026 inviting manufacturers to submit childhood cancer medicines for WHO prequalification, a step expected to speed national product registration, diversify the supplier base, and reduce regulatory barriers. Earlier this year, a high-level round table convened at the World Health Assembly brought member states, industry, civil society, and other stakeholders into the market-shaping effort.

The platform behind the plan

The strategy draws on the experience of the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, conceived in 2021 by WHO and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in collaboration with UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization Strategic Fund, which serve as procurement agents. More than 100 experts across stakeholder groups and regions contributed to the strategy, according to the Global Platform's technical team.

The platform has been working with 12 participating countries since 2024: Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Jordan, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Zambia. The first medicine shipments reached Ecuador, Jordan, Mongolia, Nepal, Uzbekistan, and Zambia in February 2025, and Moldova received its first shipment in February 2026, as reported by OncoDaily. By June 2026, approximately 1.7 million standard units of medicines had been delivered to 31 facilities, benefiting more than 5,400 children.

"Zambia is proud of our progress in childhood cancer, including our early leadership in the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines," said Dr. Kennedy Lishimpi, permanent secretary for technical services at Zambia's Ministry of Health, in a statement. "Yet persistent market challenges continue to affect access for children, and it is critical that we continue to work together to enhance the reliability and affordability of childhood cancer medicines."

"No child should be denied a chance of survival because the medicines they need are unavailable, unaffordable, or out of reach," said Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, executive vice president of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and director of St. Jude Global, in a statement. "By creating healthier and more sustainable markets, we can help ensure that every child, everywhere, has a fair opportunity to receive life-saving treatment and reach their full potential."

The Global Platform is working with twelve governments to build a more predictable and sustainable market, and additional countries are expected to join, with onboarding planned for 2027. WHO said the lessons from this work extend beyond cancer: the same market-shaping approaches could be applied to medicines for other noncommunicable diseases. The full strategy document is available at WHO's publication page.