We are working in support of the World Health Organization's (WHO) goal of achieving a minimum survival rate of 60% for all children with cancer by 2030 - by ensuring children with cancer around the world have access to healthcare services, empowering families and training healthcare professionals.
Every Three Minutes, a Child Dies of Cancer
The true number of children afflicted with cancer is unknown because most of them are undiagnosed. Each year, an estimated 400,000 children and adolescents develop cancer.
In high-income countries, where comprehensive services are generally accessible, more than 80% of children diagnosed with cancer recover from the illness. But in low- and middle-income countries, the recovery rate drops to less than 30%. Between 2015 and 2019, the average global five-year childhood cancer survival rate was 83% in North America but less than 12% in Africa.
Most childhood cancers can be cured with generic medicines and other forms of treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy. In other words, the majority of children with cancer can be saved.
In low- and middle-income countries, there are five main challenges: childhood cancer is often detected too late, there is an insufficient number of well-trained health professionals, appropriate treatment is often unavailable or not affordable, pain management and palliative care are limited, and childhood cancer is often not a health priority.
Foundation S are committed to addressing this geographic inequality.
Our My Child Matters Program
Launched in 2005, My Child Matters addresses geographic inequalities in childhood cancer survival.
We fund local projects owned by hospitals, local NGOs or foundations with innovative approaches to childhood cancer management. We collaborate with regional and global organizations to scale successful initiatives. Our approach focuses on:
- Identifying system-changing innovations
- Empowering local teams leading social and organizational improvements
- Supporting knowledge sharing and expansion across countries
My Child Matters Scope
Family Support
Providing assistance to caregivers and families to prevent treatment abandonment.
Care for Children
Improving access to diagnosis and developing palliative care and pain management plans.
Strengthening Healthcare Systems
Building local capacity through training health care professionals and early diagnosis initiatives in the community.
Our Impact
My Child Matters goes beyond providing immediate care. It has also made a significant impact by sharing knowledge widely, with close to 300 scientific publications available on our Open Data Platform. At Foundation S, we believe that sharing experiences and data is crucial for speeding up progress in the fight against childhood cancers. Since its launch in 2022, our My Child Matters Open Data Platform has been instrumental in achieving this goal. This innovative platform enables researchers, healthcare professionals, families, institutions, communities, and non-governmental organizations to access critical data for better care and outcomes. It offers a user-friendly interface, promoting transparency and knowledge to advance our work against childhood cancer.
285,000
children with cancer supported
The Expert Committee
Our Childhood Cancer Expert Committee is a diverse, high-level international expert committee comprising pediatric oncologists, nurses, family members of children with cancer, and global health specialists.
The Committee advises the strategy of the MCM program and is involved throughout its annual grants program - from reviewing applications to the selection process and offering mentorship and support to our grantees.
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