Project 461640

Globally, over 400,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year, 80% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Though survival rates in high-income countries exceed 80%, those in LMIC are far lower. Survival rates are less than 20% in most sub-Saharan African countries. Unlike in adults, preventing childhood cancer through lifestyle changes is not possible. Improving childhood cancer outcomes relies on early diagnosis and treatment, which remain a challenge in most sub-Saharan African countries. Evidence from other parts of the world suggests that programs that increase awareness of childhood cancer among community health workers and the public result in more childhood cancer cases being detected and earlier referral to cancer units. Despite this, such programs are rare in sub-Saharan Africa because of limited experience of how to successfully implement them in local contexts. We plan to adapt an established healthcare worker training intervention, which has been implemented in Ghana with promising outcomes, to two additional countries: Cameroon and Kenya. We will evaluate the feasibility, cost and the health impacts of the intervention in both countries. By doing so, we hope to create a toolkit that healthcare providers and policymakers across sub-Saharan Africa can use to implement similar programs in their countries. Ultimately, we hope to improve childhood cancer outcomes across sub-Saharan Africa through earlier detection of cancers and referral of patients to the care they need.