We are working with the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujab Medical University (BSMMU) in Dhaka to increase survival rates of child cancer at the centre and at 8 government funded regional child cancer centres across Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh 6,000 to 10,000 child cancer cases are expected annually. The BSMMU is the only specialist cancer treatment centre in the country. It receives government funding and sees approximately 270 new cases of child cancer per year, of which approximately 20% of children survive (compared with 80% in high income countries). The 8 regional centres provide only a basic level of care.

Major Challenges

• Lack of reliable data on the problem of child cancer in Bangladesh
• Very low rate of diagnosis
• Late diagnosis results in children presenting with very advanced symptoms
• Lack of access and funding for drugs leads to a high rate of abandonment of treatment

Project Objectives

• To increase survival rates of children with cancer at BSMMU and the 8 regional child cancer centres by improving the quality of care
• To share knowledge, technology and organisational skills with the twinning hospitals in Canada and the UK to develop locally appropriate treatment protocols
• To reduce abandonment of treatment by 50% due to unaffordability of drugs and lack of knowledge about the nature of treatment amongst parents
• To raise awareness of child cancer, its symptoms and curability amongst healthcare professionals in Bangladesh leading to improved diagnosis
• To improve access to care with more children receiving curative and palliative treatment

What is World Child Cancer Doing to Help?

• We have developed the twinning partnership between BSMMU, University College Hospital in London and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada
• We are funding an on-site and online training programme for around 570 healthcare professionals in Bangladesh through workshops led by experts from the twinning hospitals
• We are facilitating an online child cancer database at BSMMU and the 8 regional child cancer centres

 

If you are a healthcare professional with specialist paediatric oncology expertise and are interested in getting involved with one of our projects please click here to contact us.

Key Facts

• Bangladesh is a low income country with a per capita income of US $700 GNI (Gross National Income (GNI), Atlas Method, World Bank Data 2010)
• The population of Bangladesh is around 149 million people
• Government health priorities focus on child and maternal health, disease prevention and non-communicable diseases including cancer
• Cancer is the 6th leading cause of death in Bangladesh and rising up the priority ranking as infectious and parasitic diseases are brought under control

Dhaka, Bangladesh

Project Centre: Bangabadnhu Sheikh Mujab Medical University (BSMMU)
Project leader: Professor Afiqul Islam
Twinning Centres: University College Hospital (UCH), London, UK University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Start Date: January 2012
Length of Project: Five years