WHO Launches 2026–2030 Strategy to Improve Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines

The World Health Organization (WHO) and partners in the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines have launched a new strategy aimed at strengthening the global market for childhood cancer medicines and improving access to quality-assured treatments in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Launched on 15 September 2026, the Closing the childhood cancer survival gap through sustainable access to medicines: market shaping strategy 2026–2030 sets out 10 coordinated interventions to address weaknesses in the supply, procurement, financing and regulatory environment for essential childhood cancer medicines.

The strategy was launched during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month as WHO and its partners seek to address persistent inequalities in childhood cancer survival. WHO estimates that about 400,000 children develop cancer each year, while survival remains below 30% in many LMICs compared with more than 80% in many high-income countries.

Medicine Availability Remains a Major Challenge

The strategy follows evidence that medicines may remain unavailable even when they are included in procurement systems.

A baseline evaluation conducted across 12 countries and 51 hospitals before the Global Platform was launched found that only about 45% of essential childhood cancer medicines were available in the hospitals assessed.

Nearly half of the hospitals had experienced stock-outs lasting at least one month during the preceding year, including medicines that were listed in procurement lists or hospital records.

WHO identifies two major market constraints behind these problems: a fragile and concentrated supplier base for essential childhood cancer medicines and fragmented, underfunded demand, which can create uncertainty for suppliers and contribute to supply disruptions.

“Access to childhood cancer medicines depends not only on what medicines exist, but on whether markets are able to deliver them reliably, affordably, and at quality,” said Santiago Millan, Technical Lead for the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines at WHO’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health.

Ten Interventions Planned Through 2030

The new strategy proposes 10 interlinked interventions covering both supply and demand.

In the near term, WHO and partners will focus on expanding the number of quality-assured suppliers, consolidating demand through pooled procurement and published forecasts, and using volume guarantees and other mechanisms to improve market predictability.

The strategy also includes measures to strengthen regulatory processes, improve market transparency, support sustainable financing and facilitate the integration of childhood cancer medicines into nationally financed health benefit packages.

Longer-term measures include supporting innovation and exploring voluntary licensing for newer therapies where appropriate.

The interventions are deliberately sequenced. The initial phase focuses on stabilising supply and consolidating demand, followed by measures to strengthen market visibility and sustainability from 2027 and support innovation from 2029.

WHO Expands Quality-Assured Supply

Implementation of the strategy has already begun.

In August 2026, WHO issued its first invitation for manufacturers of childhood cancer medicines to submit products for evaluation through the WHO Prequalification Programme.

The initiative covers 12 essential childhood cancer medicines — six for which child-friendly formulations are needed and six selected because of documented access and supply challenges.

The six medicines identified as requiring child-friendly formulations are cyclophosphamide, etoposide, mercaptopurine, methotrexate, procarbazine and temozolomide.

The six medicines selected because of supply challenges are pegaspargase, asparaginase, hydrocortisone (preservative-free), dactinomycin, vincristine and cytarabine.

WHO expects the prequalification pathway to help diversify the supplier base, facilitate national product registration, reduce regulatory barriers and strengthen the availability of quality-assured and child-friendly medicines.

Global Platform Already Delivering Medicines

The market-shaping strategy builds on the work of the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, jointly established by WHO and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in collaboration with UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Strategic Fund.

The platform was conceived in 2021 and has been working with 12 participating countries since 2024: Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Jordan, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Zambia.

Additional countries are expected to join, with onboarding planned for 2027.

The programme combines medicine procurement with country-level support, including medicine selection, treatment standards and systems needed to receive, distribute, store and administer cancer medicines safely and effectively.

By June 2026, close to 1.4 million standard units of childhood cancer medicines had been delivered to more than 4,000 children through 30 facilities in participating countries.

Why the Strategy Matters for Medicines Access

For pharmacists and other professionals involved in paediatric oncology, the strategy places medicine availability and supply reliability at the centre of a broader effort to improve childhood cancer care.

The approach recognises that increasing access is not simply a matter of identifying effective medicines. Countries also need dependable suppliers, accurate demand forecasting, functioning procurement systems, appropriate regulatory pathways, sustainable financing and suitable formulations for children.

The strategy therefore moves beyond individual medicine purchases towards addressing the market conditions that influence whether essential medicines are consistently available.

For LMICs, the implications extend beyond procurement. Even when medicines are available internationally, patients still depend on national registration, financing, procurement, distribution and health-facility capacity before treatment can reach them.

From Medicine Supply to Sustainable Access

WHO says the lessons from the childhood cancer medicines programme could also inform approaches to improving access to medicines for other noncommunicable diseases.

The 2026–2030 strategy therefore represents a broader shift in how childhood cancer medicine access is being addressed — from responding to shortages towards improving the market conditions that contribute to unreliable supply.

For children receiving cancer treatment, the practical test will be whether these measures translate into more consistent access to quality-assured, affordable and appropriate medicines when they are needed.