Lack of funds means impoverished kids face painful cancer deaths

Severe funding shortages have left thousands of children throughout the developing world without access to even the most basic cancer treatment or pain relief, two leading cancer organisations have revealed.

Releasing their shock findings to coincide with International Childhood Cancer Day yesterday, Cancer Research UK and the International Confederation of Childhood Cancer Parent Organisations (ICCCPO) have reported that of the 250,000 children who develop cancer each year, 80% die without proper treatment, with many not even receiving morphine to ease their suffering.

The organisations have said that for the cost of a single child brought over to Britain "for treatment in a blaze of publicity", more than a hundred could be treated in their own countries with "cheap but highly effective therapies".

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that children are dying unnecessarily, but because of lack of money and the poor infrastructure of developing countries, its priority is palliative care.

ICCCPO has launched an international campaign for more resources to tackle childhood cancer in the developing world and to provide training for local doctors. The organisation has already written to Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the UN, to appeal for more funds, and will be writing to Hilary Benn, the UK's International Development Secretary, this week.

Geoff Thaxter, Vice President of ICCCPO, said: "There is a great willingness amongst families and professionals involved with childhood cancer to reduce the 100,000 needless deaths a year – these children have a right to life. If we can get the support of Kofi Annan and governments around the world, this can all be done more quickly. We are not passing the problem to them to solve; we want their help in working together."

Professor Tim Eden, of Cancer Research UK's Paediatric Oncology Group in Manchester, said: "There's an assumption that treating cancer is expensive, but it doesn't have to be. For some types it can cost as little as £20 to cure a child. By developing treatment regimes that take account of a country's medical facilities and providing proper training and advice to local doctors, we can make great progress on relatively limited funds."

(gmcg)