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Each year on World Cancer Day, the global community pauses to reflect on both the extraordinary progress made in cancer care and the profound inequities that still shape who benefits from that progress.
Over the past few decades, scientific advances have transformed cancer from a diagnosis that once meant near-certain mortality into one that, for many, is treatable or even curable. But that reality is far from universal. Today, where someone is born or lives remains one of the strongest predictors of whether they will survive cancer.
According to the Union for International Cancer Control, or UICC, in 2012, nearly 65% of global cancer-related deaths occurred in low- and middle-income countries. That figure is projected to rise to 75% by 2030. As urban populations grow fast in these same regions, the challenge ahead is not only medical. It is systemic.
Direct Relief’s work in cancer care sits at this intersection: bridging innovation with access and ensuring that life-saving tools reach the communities that need them most.
Global Cancer Care: Where the Gap Is Widest
Staff prepare medications at Hiwa Cancer Hospital, the only specialized cancer hosital in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the second-largest provider of cancer care in all of Iraq. In partnership with Kurdistan Save the Children, a donation of requested chemotherapy medicine from Direct Relief was delivered to the hospital in January 2019. (Photo courtesy of Kurdistan Save the Children)
Internationally, the disparities are even more stark.
In 2025, Direct Relief supported 77 cancer care partners across 36 countries, delivering 256 shipments of oncology-related aid valued at $109.7 million.
Our partners range from national referral hospitals and teaching institutions to NGOs and Ministries of Health. Many also provide wraparound services, covering not just treatment but transportation, family support, and even education for children receiving care inside pediatric oncology wards.
For children with cancer in particular, the need is urgent and deeply personal.
Global HOPE: Pediatric Cancer & Blood Disorders
Through Global HOPE, a partnership launched by Texas Children’s Hospital and supported by the BMS Foundation, Direct Relief helps strengthen pediatric cancer and blood disease care across sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2025:
20 structured deliveries of Teva-supported medicines reached 6 clinical sites
$11.1 million in combined product and program support
Partners across Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda
Since its launch, Global HOPE has:
Trained more than 8,740 pediatric specialists, including pediatric hematology fellows and 180 nurses
Treated more than 30,000 children to date
This work also includes expanding care for children with sickle cell disease, who face a significantly higher risk of developing blood cancers like leukemia. More than 80% of the world’s 7.7 million people living with sickle cell disease are in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to diagnostics and treatment remains limited.
Breast Cancer Care in Ghana
With Dr. Beatrice Wiafe Addai (left), of Direct Relief’s Medical Advisory Council and founder of Breast Care International. (Photo by David Uttley)
Another powerful example is our partnership with Breast Care International, or BCI, in Ghana.
In 2025:
Seven deliveries of Teva-supported oncology medicines valued at $2.5 million were delivered
Cold chain infrastructure provided by Direct Relief
A $15,000 grant to support BCI’s annual Walk for a Cure
Cold chain storage at Uganda Cancer Institute, in Kampala, Uganda. (Photo by David Uttley for Direct Relief)
Direct Relief’s role goes beyond delivering medicine. The organization also invests in the systems that make cancer care sustainable.
Through the Access to Oncology Medicines, or ATOM, Coalition, led by the UICC, Direct Relief works alongside more than 40 global partners to improve:
Availability of cancer medicines
Supply chain systems
Regulatory and donation transitions
In 2025, Direct Relief supported in-country workshops in Mongolia, El Salvador, and Zambia, and continued technical working groups into 2026.
Access isn’t only about what’s donated. It’s about whether health systems are equipped to store it, prescribe it, and deliver it safely.
Cancer Care in the United States
In the U.S., Direct Relief works closely with free and charitable clinics that serve patients who are often uninsured, underinsured, or facing significant barriers to care.
In 2025 alone, the organization delivered 25 shipments of cancer-related medical aid to 22 partner organizations, totaling $1.1 million in donated medicines and supplies.
One initiative I’m especially proud of is Advancing Women’s Health: Cancer Care Prevention, Screening & Diagnosis, a collaborative grant program funded by BD and implemented by Direct Relief in partnership with the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics.
This program supports community-based clinics across the country to expand access to:
Cancer prevention
Screening services
Early diagnostic care
By investing directly in frontline providers, the initiative helps ensure that early detection and basic oncology services aren’t determined by income or insurance status, but by need.
From Awareness to Action
An oncologist medical provider conducts cancer research. (Photo by Felipe Luna Espinosa for Direct Relief)
World Cancer Day isn’t just a moment of awareness. It’s part of an effort that Direct Relief is working on all year long.
Because the science exists. The medicines exist. The expertise exists. What’s missing, too often, is equitable access. That’s what keeps Direct Relief focused on global cancer treatment, because where you live should not determine whether you live.
