For decades, the United States has partnered with nations across Africa to address shared public health challenges, working together to invest billions of dollars in improving and saving lives.

Yesterday, the Biden Cancer Moonshot hosted the White House Africa Cancer Forum - convening ten African nations to assess national priorities in cancer care as part of their comprehensive national strategy for improving health care systems and population health outcomes.

These actions build on a commitment made at the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit in December 2022 announced by First Lady Jill Biden, to advance a shared vision to deliver improved health outcomes in Africa, including by reducing the burden of cancer.

No one nation can solve a complex disease like cancer alone, but together, we can develop and share new ways to ease the burden on patients and their loved ones.

That is why the Biden Cancer Moonshot is announcing new actions across the Cancer Cabinet - President Biden’s whole-of-government response to end cancer as we know it - and the private sector.

These new actions expand access to cancer prevention, detection, and treatment, and will drive new innovation to deliver the latest progress to patients, families, and communities across Africa:

The U.S. Department of State and Department of Energy is announcing $6 million to enhance capacity to detect and treat cancer in developing countries. Rays of Hope, an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) initiative, will provide $6 million in 2024 to assist developing countries in building capacities to detect and treat cancer. These funds expand on the more than $50 million that the United States has previously dedicated to Rays of Hope to help close gaps in global access to nuclear medicine and radiotherapy.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will increase knowledge and access to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, cervical cancer screening, and treatment amongst girls and women in Kenya. Working in Nairobi’s informal settlements, the CDC and its partners will support and implement programs aimed at encouraging conversations and increasing knowledge about cervical cancer. The CDC will rigorously measure and report HPV vaccinations in the KenyaEMR, an electronic medical records system in Kenya. They will also utilise the DREAMS program platform, a public-private partnership by the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) established to reduce the HIV infection rates amongst adolescent girls in sub-Saharan Africa, to increase the number of cervical cancer screenings.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is conducting one of the first cancer immunotherapy clinical trials on the continent of Africa. NCI is committing $6 million and partnering with[healthcare company Roche and investigators in Kenya and Malawi to conduct one of the first cancer immunotherapy clinical trials on the African continent. This trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the FDA-approved medicine atezolizumab for African children, adolescents, and adults with lymphomas caused by Epstein-Barr virus. The clinical trial will provide options for treatment to patients who have not been cured by standard chemotherapy and who have limited treatment options.

NCI is extending support for cancer implementation science in countries in Africa. NCI is awarding a new cohort of eight funding awards totalling nearly $24 million to support new implementation science teams working with diverse settings, populations, interventions, and cancer types. This funding will help promote the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions, and policies into public health settings to improve cancer outcomes.

NCI is supporting new cancer technology research. NCI is awarding five funding awards totalling approximately $15 million to support researchers and health care providers in low- and middle-income countries to develop new technologies for diverse settings, populations, and cancer types, through the NCI Affordable Cancer Technologies program. This program supports multidisciplinary research teams to adapt, engineer, and apply new technologies that are cost-effective and adapted to low- and middle-income settings.

NCI is supporting surveillance research and data sharing in Africa. Strengthening cancer registries and surveillance research play a critical role in determining the effectiveness of cancer treatment and where resources are needed most. NCI has committed $125,000 to initiate a new collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer and two Centers of Expertise for Cancer Surveillance in Kenya and South Africa to further strengthen cancer-related data quality, data sharing, and surveillance research, which includes the measurement of cancer incidence, morbidity, survival, and mortality for persons with cancer.

NCI is strengthening research capacity in countries in Africa and diversifying the global cancer research workforce. NCI is awarding $1 million to support academic institutions in low- and middle-income countries to develop modules to cultivate leadership skills amongst faculty and trainees to enable successful research careers.

The Biden Cancer Moonshot is also announcing the following new commitments from non-governmental organisations:

Improving Access to Cancer Screening and Prevention

Northwestern University Center for Global Oncology is launching the West Africa-U.S. Cancer Prevention and Control Initiative with an $18 million investment to enhance research capacity. This initiative focusses on developing and implementing evidence-based screening, diagnostic, and treatment tools in West Africa, particularly targeting infection-associated cancers like cervical cancer caused by HPV infection. The program also includes training early-career West African scientists in cancer research.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching the AWS Children’s Innovation Initiative, $10 million commitment to help organisations harness cloud technology to advance global paediatric health, including cancer detection and treatment. The AWS Children’s Innovation Initiative will fund the use of technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence (AI), to accelerate research, improve children’s well-being, and empower caregivers around the world. The first three awardees to receive $1 million dollars each include the Children’s National Hospital, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the Children’s Brain Tumor Network. 

Pfizer Foundation is working with Partners in Health in Rwanda, and Jhpiego, a global health nonprofit and John Hopkins University affiliate, in Tanzania, to advance timely and accurate breast cancer care for women. Through community-based engagement and education to support early detection, this collaboration aims to improve the capacity of diagnostic services and bring treatment options closer to the communities that need them.

MD Anderson is expanding collaborations with Ministries of Health in low- and middle-income countries working on cervical cancer elimination. Building on more than 10 years of collaboration with the Mozambique Ministry of Health (MOH), including implementing and evaluating HPV-based screening, treating cervical precancer, and training gynaecologic oncologists in-country, MD Anderson is now replicating and adapting this model with the MOHs of Zambia and Indonesia. By 2026, MD Anderson commits to expanding this program to five additional MOHs interested in partnerships to eliminate cervical cancer.

The Sabin Vaccine Institute, through the Global HPV Consortium, is convening regional and country-based collaborations to promote a holistic approach to cervical cancer elimination through integrated vaccination, screening and early treatment. Collaborating with the Organization of African First Ladies and other partners to mobilise political support for national-level elimination planning, prioritising high-risk populations, including HIV+ individuals, and engaging adolescents. 

The Elekta Foundation is announcing a scalable FAST model for cervical cancer screening in low-resource countries. In collaboration with the Rwanda Ministry of Health the model provides Fast HPV testing (>850 tests per day), Affordable costs (<$25 per patient), Systematic tracking from primary health centres to a central data system, and Timely diagnosis and treatment, which will contribute to the Rwanda’s aims to eliminate cervical cancer before the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2030 goal, which is that  90% of girls should be fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by 15 years of age; 70% of women should be screened using a high-performance test by age 35, and again by age 45; and 90% of those identified with cervical disease should receive appropriate treatment.

Becton, Dickinson and Company is partnering with the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Health state corporation at the National Cancer Institute of Kenya to set up an Integrated Mother and Child Health Center at the Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital. This facility will provide early cervical and breast cancer screening services and linkage to care, all under one roof. Additionally, under this partnership and in collaboration with the Nairobi local government, community health workers are being trained to increase awareness within the communities, which will significantly improve access to cervical and breast cancer care.

Increasing Capacity for Cancer Research, Infrastructure, and Training

The University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center is launching a multicenter study in Nigeria in July 2024. Using data from the United States, the Bahamas, and Nigeria, researchers will work to better understand the drivers of health inequities, understand and identify the genetic characteristics specific to African heritage and determine environmental factors that improve the ongoing effects of medical treatment for women with ovarian cancer. This expansion to Nigeria is in partnership with the Federal University of Health Sciences, Azare, as part of Sylvester’s co-founded Transatlantic Gynecologic Oncology Research Consortium.

Rutgers Global Health Institute and the Botswana Ministry of Health is working together to improve comprehensive cancer care and prevention in Botswana. This initiative is coordinated by the Ministry of Health and the Botswana Rutgers Partnership for Health team, and includes national cancer plan contributions, workforce development, and training.

Moffitt Cancer Center is leading the Partnership to Assess Viral and Immune Landscape Intersections with Oncology for People Living with HIV (PAVILION). PAVILION is a $5.5 million program between Moffitt, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the German Cancer Research Center, Stellenbosch University, and University of Zimbabwe focused on expanding research of understudied, virus-associated cancers that disproportionately impact people living with HIV. This program includes two research projects and a series of pilot projects in Zimbabwe and South Africa aimed at expanding biospecimen and data repositories at the African sites.

Building Cancer Care Workforce and Delivery in Countries in Africa

The Global Health Catalyst has secured $2 million for global oncology education and training, benefiting both the United States and countries within African, with the goal of expanding the Biden Cancer Moonshot globally by increasing oncology workforce capacity to reduce death rates. Programs will be implemented via the Global Oncology University with opportunities to train thousands of oncology health professionals leveraging advanced information and communication technologies and AI.

RevitaLash Cosmetics and City of Hope’s Ethiopia Breast Cancer Initiative is opening the Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Cancer Treatment Center. This centre now offers comprehensive cancer treatment for patients with breast cancer and is only the second comprehensive cancer centre in the entire country of 123 million people. The addition of a brand-new state-of-the-art radiation machine in Hawassa’s facility makes it the fourth fully functional machine in the country. Future goals for the initiative include scaling up “train the trainer” and nursing faculty training programs that will support improved breast cancer pathology practices in the region.

With support from the Pfizer Foundation, Partners in Health is working in Malawi to build cancer care capacity. In collaboration with the Malawi government, Partners in Health will build public sector capacity for effective oncology care by identifying gaps in cancer care, developing national cancer guidelines, supporting the training of community health workers on cancer protocols, and developing national cancer indicators to monitor strategy and government progress in cancer.

The American Cancer Society is ensuring that 75,000 patients receive patient navigation support and is improving pain management in sub-Saharan Africa. The Building Expertise, Advocacy, and Capacity for Oncology Navigation (BEACON) Initiative supports health institutions and cancer organisations in designing, implementing, and sustaining cancer patient navigation programs and supports the integration of patient navigation into cancer control planning and cancer care delivery. This commitment builds on BEACON’s work to build capacity with 14 partnering health institutions and cancer organisations and their plans to reach 50 additional partners over the next three years.

BIO Ventures for Global Health (BVGH) is increasing its workforce training initiatives to strengthen 7,500 health care professionals’ cancer patient management skills and improve patient referral systems. Through its African Access Initiative, BVGH is scaling up its training programs to address the oncology educational needs and priorities of 7,500 African health care professionals. In addition, BVGH is implementing holistic training projects to position ten African hospitals as cancer centres of excellence committed to training the next generation of cancer professionals. In collaboration with the African Access Initiative, a public-private partnership that targets the growing cancer crisis in Africa BVGH will improve cancer patient referral systems in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Senegal - training 1,000 frontline clinicians to examine patients for cancers, refer patients to local cancer care facilities, and manage cancer survivors and patients actively undergoing treatment.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Tanzania’s Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences is implementing a new point-of-care breast cancer hormone receptor test that provides women with timely results to personalise their treatment and improve outcomes. This will increase access to the many breast cancer patients in low- and middle-income countries that do not have access to hormone receptor testing which can help determine eligibility for widely available, effective, and lifesaving treatment options. 

MSK and the African Research Group for Oncology (ARGO) Consortium is expanding a training program for minimally invasive breast tumour biopsies. MSK and ARGO will expand an ultrasound-guided breast biopsy training program across Nigeria, increasing patients’ access to breast cancer screenings and diagnoses

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is announcing new training, capacity building and education programs. Together with the sub-Saharan Africa Regional , Council, ASCO will work with Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to provide intensive training and capacity building in the areas of multidisciplinary cancer care, integration of palliative care, and quality of care measurement and improvement.

Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation is announcing grants and awards totalling more than $300,000 to African cancer professionals and investigators. The grants and awards include International Innovation Grants supporting the discovery of cancer control solutions i.e. methods to decrease the cancer burden in Ethiopia and Nigeria; Young Investigator Awards in Global Oncology to support early-career researchers in Tanzania and Ghana; and International Development and Education Awards in mentorship and professional development for 11 early-career oncologists across the continent. 

Pfizer and ASCO is committing resources to help build capacity to address breast cancer patients. Pfizer is committing up to $1 million to fund quality improvement projects under ASCO’s Conquer Cancer’s EveryGrant® program to improve the quality of care and to help build capacity to address the needs of breast cancer patients in sub-Saharan Africa. This grant program will support innovative projects to improve the quality of breast cancer patient care in the select geographies in the region. 

Bayer is working with BVGH to improve cancer patient care and outcomes in Nigeria for Hepatocellular Carcinoma. This partnership will enable early diagnosis, coordinating of health services delivery, and educating the next generation of health care providers, especially in underserved Nigerian communities that suffer from disparities in cancer outcomes.

Moffitt Cancer Center is announcing a new workforce training initiative with the University of Ghana and Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. Through the Ghana Integrative Approach to Cancer Research (GRACE) program, this global cancer research and education collaboration will train a diverse multidisciplinary cohort of emerging cancer researchers by strengthening and expanding institutional capacity to broadly conduct cancer research.

Making Cancer Treatments Accessible

Elekta signed a partnership agreement with the IAEA to improve cancer treatment with the intent to close the gap in access to radiation therapy around the world. This collaboration will enable a continuous dialogue and knowledge sharing in the coordination and implementation of joint efforts. Specifically, it will include awareness raising activities, the development of training resources, and the use of digital tools to improve treatment quality and facilitate research in low-and-middle income countries. This partnership will also expand previous cooperation, which, to date, has included the facilitation of training as well as the provision of radiation therapy solutions, such as linear accelerators, brachytherapy treatment equipment, treatment planning workstations, and related software, in several IAEA Member States.

MSK is sponsoring a first-of-its-kind immunotherapy trial and is creating a novel diagnostic test for colorectal cancer patients in Nigeria. Treatment of patients using immunotherapy focused on a specific genetic signature results in patients responding to immunotherapy three times better. This trial has potential to drastically change outcomes for almost one-third of colorectal cancer patients in Nigeria and across West Africa.

MSK, the African Research Group for Oncology (ARGO) Consortium, and University of Alberta will improve screening for colorectal cancer with the development of a novel point-of-care urine metabolite test for diagnosing patients with colorectal cancer that can fill the existing gap for accessing low-cost, point-of-care diagnostics of colorectal cancer.

Allied Against Cancer, a multi-sector collaboration, is working to improve cancer care quality in sub-Saharan Africa through developing, updating, and implementing 55 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) harmonised guidelines for sub-Saharan Africa. African oncologists and health ministries will utilise the 55 NCCN guidelines to define regionally appropriate cancer care, and provide a roadmap for implementing best practices and improving care access across sub-Saharan Africa.

BVGH is expanding African cancer patients’ access to U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved cancer drugs. In collaboration with its 47 African Access Initiative (AAI) member hospitals, the governments of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Senegal, BVGH will apply its demand-driven access approach to coordinate procurement of lifesaving cancer drugs for 10,000 cancer patients. BVGH will help African hospitals and governments forecast drug needs based on patient numbers, develop procurement plans that maximize available budgets, and engage supply chain stakeholders to expedite drug delivery.

Increasing Cancer Awareness and Education to Empower People

Pfizer invests $300,000 to develop and launch the 'Living With' app in countries in Africa to help reduce the stigma of a cancer diagnosis and increase the ability to learn about the disease, treatments, and how to navigate the emotional, physical, and practical challenges of living with cancer. The app was first launched in Kenya and will be available soon in Nigeria and Tanzania.

Source: The White House