We Need to Save Our Children

While India has improved its healthcare infrastructure significantly over the past decade, we still have a long way to go. The ever increasing number of Cancer patients among children in India is one area that needs immediate attention. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), our country is home to at least 20 percent of the global childhood cancer burden, with nearly 75,000 kids getting cancer every year. Non-communicable diseases, including cancer, cause nearly 50 percent of the total deaths among children aged between 5 years and 14 years. The most common types of childhood cancers are leukemias, brain cancers, lymphomas, and solid tumors like neuro blastomas and

Wilms tumors. Childhood cancer cases are high in low and middle income countries where the health system is weak and contributes to cure rates of less than 30 percent. This is due to significant barriers in early diagnosis, inability to accurately diagnose, poor access to health care facilities, and inability to initiate treatment promptly.

Clearly, the situation screams for a sustainable solution. The current national health programs and policies are largely focused on cancers in adults. But childhood cancers are unique and require different kinds of care and services for better outcomes, survival, and long-term growth and development.

Well, there is no shortcut. India needs better policies and more policies and programs to address childhood cancer. We need to create enhanced awareness about the disease, build more pediatric facilities, and ensure access to quality healthcare for children. According to National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), Less than 50 percent of the tertiary public hospitals had facilities for brachy therapy caring for children with severe neutropenia, safety measures for the preparation of chemotherapy drugs, and daycare beds with infusion chairs.