According to the released statement, cancer is the second cause of death in people aging up to 19 in the region, and around 29,000 cases are diagnosed annually.
“Most children with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, where they have to face unacceptable inequities in different aspects such as early detection, diagnosis, and access to quality treatment and palliative care,” PAHO´s Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health Director Anselm Hennis stressed.
Depending on the country, such inequalities generate gaps in the survival rate that range from 80 to 20%.
According to the source, other causes that contribute to low infant survival is the high rate of abandonment of treatment, which, in low- and middle-income regional countries reaches 30%.
In order for a better improvement, PAHO promotes in the Americas an initiative of the World Health Organization (WHO) called CureAll, aimed at doubling global cure rate to 60% by 2030.
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