FACT SHEET: Cancer Moonshot Announces New Actions Aimed to Reduce the Cancer Burden in Africa as Part of the 2022 U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

Source for detailed report: whitehouse.gov

WHEN U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN and Dr. Jill Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot in February, they set ambitious, achievable goals: to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years, and improve the experience of people and families living with and surviving cancer, ultimately ending cancer as we know it today. They called for everyone to do their par t including federal agencies and departments, private companies, health care providers, patient groups, philanthropies, and more.

While the immediate goals are domestic, the ambitions of the Cancer Moonshot extend far beyond the borders of the United States, especially as the burden of cancer falls heavily to lowerand middle-income countries (LMICs), where 80% of global cancer deaths occur. International work as part of the Cancer Moonshot is focused on equity and collaboration, thereby increasing access to prevention, screening, treatment, and care for everyone facing a cancer diagnosis and their families around the world.

Background:

For decades, the United States has partnered with African nations to meet shared health challenges, working together to invest billions of dollars and saving countless lives. However, despite much progress, non-communicable diseases (NCDS) like cancer are now estimated to lead all causes of death across the African continent. A new Lancet Oncology commission for sub-Saharan Africa estimates more than one million cancer deaths will occur per year in those countries by 2040. There are actions we can take to prevent this outcome. For example, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in sub-Saharan

Africa. With preventative vaccines for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) for girls and boys along with screening and early detection for cervical cancer, especially in women living with HIV who have up to a 6-fold higher risk of developing cervical cancer, we can change the direction and end cancer in countries in Africa as we know it. This and other work build on broadly adopted global goals to decrease the impact of cancer, with a focus on delivering better outcomes for childhood cancers, eliminating cervical cancer, decreasing the devastating impact of breast cancer, and to expand cancer prevention and early detection.

New Actions as Part of U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit

As part of the President’s U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the First Lady convened a conversation with the spouses of African leaders on “Breaking Down Barriers to Cancer Care for Young Women and Girls”, led by Ambassador John Nkengasong, Coordinator of the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). In addition, leaders across U.S. departments and agencies and the private sector have demonstrated unwavering commitment to improve cancer outcomes in countries in Africa through a number of new announcements and commitments. These efforts include strengthening domestic public health infrastructure, building resilient health systems, investing in health workers (see more here), as well as funding for robust and impactful initiatives across the African continent on cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and research, totaling approximately $200 million.

These new efforts from agencies and departments include:

• support for the design and implementation of new, pragmatic technological interventions, clinical trial development, research centers, and the strengthening of institutional capacity for global cancer research in countries in Africa, by the National Cancer Institute (NCI);

• funding for high-risk and high-gain cancer research projects, filling existing research gaps related to prostate cancer, by the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP);

• investments from the State Department and the U.S. Department of Energy to support the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rays of Hope initiative to expand access to life-saving cancer radiotherapy treatments in countries in Africa;

• continued efforts from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to integrate cervical cancer screening and treatment of pre-cancer as routine care for HIV-positive women under the Go Further Initiative, a collaboration with the George W. Bush Institute, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

These actions are just a few examples of support from the United States to decrease the burden of cancer in countries in Africa.

The private sector has also stepped up, responding with approximately $130 million in new announcements. This includes:

• capacity strengthening and support for over 100 cancer centers across the African continent;

• providing access to medications with an investment of approximately $50 million impacting about 20,000 children and adolescents over a 5-year period, while alleviating medicine shortages through collaboration;

• improving health care professionals’ knowledge and skills in cancer care and prevention;

• procurement of linear accelerators to provide access to cancer care in some countries for the first time;

• building genomic registries to accelerate cancer research to uncover precision drug and diagnostic targets that will be effective in more diverse populations; and

• initiatives to help achieve the World Health Organization (WHO) targets to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.

• To add your story, ideas, or new actions and collaborations domestically or globally, engage with us at: whitehouse.gov/cancermoonshot

Renewed Commitments from the United States to Combat Cancer

Across the Continent of Africa:

• Department of Defense Funds Prostate Cancer Research in Countries in Africa

• National Cancer Institute Commits to:

• Supporting New Cancer Technologies across Africa

• Support for Cancer Implementation Science in Countries in Africa

• HIV/Cervical Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials Network (CASCADE) to Tackle Cervical Cancer Burden in Africa

• HIV- and AIDS -Associated Malignancy Research in Countries in Africa to Address the Increased Burden of HIV- and AIDSAssociated Cancers

• Strengthen Institutional Capacity for Global Cancer Research in Countries in Africa

• State Department and Department of Energy Announce $4 Million in Funding to Build New Capacities to Detect and Treat Cancer in Countries in Africa

• U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to Provide Access to Cervical Cancer Prevention, Detection and Treatment for HIVPositive Women in Countries in Africa

Private Sector Response to Improving see page 48

Cancer Moonshot from page 47

Cancer Outcomes in Countries in Africa:

• Improving Access to Cancer Screening and Prevention

• AstraZeneca extends its Accelerate Change Together for Cancer Care program to sustainably improve cancer care ecosystems across the African continent.

• BD announces support for Kenya to achieve cervical cancer elimination by 2030. BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) and the Ministry of Health Kenya will soon launch a pilot-for-scale oncology partnership aimed at providing end-to-end cervical cancer screening within the public sector.

• Botswana-Rutgers Partnership for Health pilots a rapid “screen and treat” program for breast cancer to close the breast cancer screening gap in Botswana.

• Elekta Foundation launches a new model in cervical cancer prevention and treatment, that can be scalable in Rwanda.

• Revitalash Cosmetics and City of Hope’s Ethiopia Breast Cancer Initiative announce support for breast cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment for the women of Ethiopia.

• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announces a formal agreement with the WHO to establish a new international collaboration to reduce the global burden of women’s cancers.

• Increasing Capacity for Cancer Research, Infrastructure, and Training

• Allied Against Cancer implements the ChemoSafe program to protect oncology workers who handle hazardous chemotherapies.

• Amazon Web Services commits resources to reduce health disparities and promote health equity across the African continent.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) as part of its global $40 million Health Equity Initiative will bridge the gaps in cancer care outcomes in underserved regions.

• AstraZeneca will establish a new liver cancer research partnership in countries in Africa to accelerate improved understanding and care for a form of liver cancer.

• Project ECHO partners with leaders across the African continent to establish at least 30 new programs to improve cancer care.

• Uganda Cancer Institute-Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center launches “Cancer Genomics and Genomic Data Science for East Africa,” and additional programs to train East African researchers in cancer genomics and foster future researchers.

• Yemaachi will identify novel targets to diagnose and treat cancer and will provide diagnostic services to children and adults with cancer across the continent of Africa.

• BIO Ventures for Global Health commits to forging five new African-led research projects.

• Moffitt Cancer Center together with University of Ghana work to strengthen and expand capacity to conduct cancer research in Ghana.

• Northwestern University West Africa-U.S. Cancer Prevention and Control Initiative invests to build sustainable research and capacity for African scientists.

• Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Fox Chase Cancer Center launch a cancer genomics study to characterize novel genetic, molecular, and social determinants of cancer across populations of African ancestry.

• Building Cancer Care Workforce and Delivery in Countries in Africa

• Bayer partners with the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population as part of the “100 Million Healthy Lives” Presidential Initiative to support access to liver cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment.

• BIO Ventures for Global Health will train an additional 5,000 African healthcare professionals in the management of cancer patients.

• Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Partners

In Health have teamed up with the Rwandan Ministry of Health and University of Pennsylvania to expand access to lifesaving cancer treatment.

• Global Health Catalyst to establish a U.S.Africa Center of Excellence in Cancer Care, Research, and Education in Tanzania with an initial commitment of over $5 million in funding.

• Roche and Jhpiego, a global health nonprofit and John Hopkins University affiliate, support implementation of sustainable cervical and breast cancer programs. Roche and Jhpiego team up to help prevent or reduce the morbidity and mortality of women facing breast or cervical cancer in countries in Africa, taking a woman-centered approach.

• Botswana-Rutgers Partnership for Health debuts the Kitso Oncology Workforce Training Program.

• Varian, a Siemens Healthineers Company, provides increased access to care by supporting the establishment of two new comprehensive cancer centers in Nigeria.

• Advancing Support, Research and Treatment Access for Pediatric Cancer Patients

• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is investing $200 million in the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines.

• Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine launched Global HOPE (Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence) to improve the diagnosis and treatment of children with cancer and blood diseases.

• American Childhood Cancer Organization provides financial support to identify barriers to accessing childhood cancer essential medicines in East Africa.

• Global Pediatric Brain Tumor Network implements a new initiative which aims to create an equitable ecosystem of care for pediatric brain cancer patients.

• Making Cancer Treatments Accessible:

• Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) through the “Innovative Cancer Medicines” initiative that includes Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, and other partners, commits to demonstration projects in sub-Saharan Africa where patients will be enrolled and local stakeholders in each country will select the respective indications based on local population needs.

• Pfizer has committed to providing all of its current and future patented medicines and vaccines, available in the United States or European Union on a not-for-profit basis to government-funded public channels in Accord countries.

• Cures Within Reach expands its capacity building for clinical trials in countries in Africa.

• BIO Ventures for Global Health expands access to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved cancer drugs to treat an additional 10,000 African cancer patients over the next three years.

• The Cancer Access Partnership (CAP) from Allied Against Cancer will offer 30 high-quality medicines at access prices to 25 countries in Africa starting in early 2023.

• Allied Against Cancer will implement 55 National Comprehensive Cancer Network Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Sharan Africa by early 2023.

• Increasing Cancer Awareness and Education to Empower People

• BIO Ventures for Global Health, in collaboration with its partners, launches nationwide awareness campaigns targeting cancer patients and their caregivers.

• Allied Against Cancer announce the Treat the Pain program that will train more than 5,000 health workers in Africa to safely use opioids to treat cancer patients in pain.

Image credit: thehabarinetwork.com, registrypartners.com