PAHO urges improved access to diagnosis and treatment for children and adolescents with cancer in Latin America and the Caribbean

As part of the 2021 Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urged improved diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancer, one of the leading causes of death in children and adolescents in the Americas. To provide an overview of the childhood cancer situation that could inform decision-making, they published both subregional profiles and 25 country profiles for Latin America and the Caribbean. These illustrate the burden of disease, current survival rates and the capacity of the health system to improve them. As part of their efforts, PAHO launched a virtual course (for the moment only in Spanish) on early diagnosis of cancer in children and adolescents this month to improve the competencies and skills of primary care personnel, so that they can detect early and diagnose childhood cancer in a timely manner. View more here.