Dear CHIFA (child health) and HIFA (general) colleagues,
Tomorrow 15 February is International Child Cancer Day.
Let's reflect on the following (with thanks to Childhood Cancer International):
- Every year, more than 400,000 children and adolescents below 20, are diagnosed with cancer.
- The rate of survival depends on the region, with 80% survival in most High Income Countries but as low as 20% only in Low and Middle Income Countries.
- Every child and adolescent with cancer – regardless or financial of social class, race or native origin – deserves access to the best possible treatment and medical care.
- Children with cancer often suffer prolonged and untreated pain, due to:
-- myths about pain management as well as the use of opioids and possible “addiction”
-- lack of appropriate knowledge of pain assessment tools
-- lack of understanding of how children perceive and experience pain...
Children in LMICs are much more likely to die than children in HICs, largely because of delayed care-seeking, misdiagnosis and late diagnosis, all closely related to lack of information and knowledge.
I have sent the following tweet on our HIFA_org twitter account.
On International Child Cancer Day 15 Feb we reflect on a world where families and HWs lack access to the information they need to prevent death and suffering. 80% of children with cancer in LMICs die, often in pain, vs 20% in HICs. #ICCD #healthinfo4all @WHO @INCTR
Please retweet: https://twitter.com/hifa_org/status/1360874524460396545
Best wishes, Neil
Join HIFA: www.hifa.org/joinhifa
Join CHIFA (child health and rights): http://www.hifa.org/joinchifa
Let's build a future where people are no longer dying for lack of healthcare information - Join HIFA: www.hifa.org
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of the HIFA global health campaign (Healthcare Information For All - www.hifa.org ), a global community with more than 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting on six global forums in four languages in collaboration with WHO. Twitter: @hifa_org FB: facebook.com/HIFAdotORG neil@hifa.org
