WHO Initiative to Provide Free Cancer Medicines to Children in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Sub : Sci

Sec: Health

Why in News

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a new platform to provide cost-free cancer medicines to thousands of children in low- and middle-income countries. This initiative aims to improve survival rates and bridge the healthcare disparity between high-income and low-income nations.

Details:

The first shipments of these medicines have been sent to Mongolia and Uzbekistan, with further deliveries planned for Ecuador, Jordan, Nepal, and Zambia.
WHO has assured that participating nations will receive a continuous and quality-assured supply of childhood cancer medications at no cost.
Survival rates for childhood cancer in low- and middle-income countries often remain below 30%, while in high-income nations, survival rates reach around 80%.
The initiative aims to reduce this gap by improving access to essential medicines and treatment facilities.

Other Global Health Initiatives:

The research, published in the journal Urban Climate, highlights that while premature birth risks are widely recognized, the health implications of delayed birth remain underexplored.
Singapore’s Senior Care Initiative: Horse Therapy
- Singapore has launched a two-year programme, ‘Haydays with Horses’, to enhance senior care using horse therapy.
- This initiative seeks to help elderly individuals improve physical health, cognitive function, and psychological well-being.
- The therapy is available at active-ageing centres across the city, where seniors interact with miniature horses by grooming them, combing their manes, or stroking them.
- Backed by Singapore’s state investment fund, Temasek, the program is free for participants.

What is silver tsunami?

The term “Silver Tsunami” is a metaphor used to describe the significant demographic shift characterized by the aging population, particularly the large cohort of baby boomers reaching retirement age. This phenomenon has wide-ranging implications for various sectors of society.
The “Silver Tsunami” refers to the increasing proportion of older adults in the population, especially as the baby boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964) ages.
The term gained prominence in the early 2000s to highlight the anticipated impact of this demographic shift.
In the United States, the share of the population aged 65 and over more than doubled between 1940 and 2020, rising from less than 7% to nearly 17%.
By 2040, the number of cancer survivors is projected to grow to 26.1 million, with 73% of them being 65 years or older.