Sri Lanka today joined the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, a global initiative led by the World Health Organization and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to expand access to affordable, quality-assured cancer medicines for children.
The milestone was marked at the Ministry of Health and Mass Media with the signing of a Letter of Agreement between the Government of Sri Lanka and WHO, in the presence of Honourable Minister of Health and Health Ministry officials, cancer care professionals and advocates.
The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicine (Global Platform) aims to secure a reliable supply of essential childhood cancer medicines to low- and middle-income countries, with procurement support from UNICEF and Pan American Health Organization Strategic Fund. It complements the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) which aims to raise global childhood cancer survival rates to at least 60% by 2030.
Speaking at the event, Honourable Dr Nalinda Jayatissa, Minister of Health and Mass Media said. “By joining the Global Platform at this crucial juncture, Sri Lanka is making a strategic, forward‑looking investment in the health of its children. This partnership will support us in building a stronger, more resilient supply chain for cancer medicines, adopting international best practices, and ensuring that every child with cancer receives safe, effective, and uninterrupted treatment.”
Each year, approximately 800 children in Sri Lanka are diagnosed with cancer with the majority receiving care at the National Cancer Institute Sri Lanka (NCISL), also known as the Apeksha Hospital, the leading hospital under the Ministry of Health and Mass Media dedicated to cancer care. Through the Global Platform, the hospital will receive a steady supply of quality-assured, essential childhood cancer medicines, supported by end-to-end systems covering medicines selection, procurement and distribution.
The WHO Representative to Sri Lanka, Dr Rajesh Pandav said that the partnership translates global commitments into concrete national action. “This collaboration demonstrates how international partnerships can directly improve survival and quality of life for children with cancer. Through this partnership, we now have an opportunity to enhance supply chain and storage infrastructure, aligning with global standards and ensuring that life-saving medicines are available when needed most,” he remarked.
Participation in the Global Platform is also expected to strengthen Sri Lanka’s health system through improved forecasting, procurement planning, regulatory oversight, and monitoring of essential medicines, while supporting better diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care for childhood cancer nationwide.
Dr Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, Executive Vice President of the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and co-chair of the Global Platform steering committee, remarked that, “We are pleased to be working with Sri Lanka to advance the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines. Through strong, country-led collaboration across government, clinical, and regulatory partners, this work helps ensure that more children with cancer can access quality-assured medicines and timely care. This milestone marks meaningful progress for children and families in Sri Lanka and strengthens global efforts to save lives and improve outcomes for children with cancer.”
Sri Lanka has been a GICC focus country since 2021. The Ministry of Health and Mass Media, with support from WHO, has advanced policy reforms to prioritize childhood cancer, and strengthen specialist health workforce training. With the support of the Global Platform partners, national stakeholders will now develop an action-oriented roadmap to ensure the safe and equitable delivery of quality-assured cancer medicines for children.
About the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines
The Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines (Global Platform) was conceived in 2021 by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and WHO, which jointly developed the initiative to complement the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, in collaboration with UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization Strategic Fund as procurement agents. The Global Platform aims to provide an uninterrupted supply of quality-assured cancer medicines to approximately 120 000 children in low- and middle-income countries in the next five to seven years, with the expectation of scaling up supplies in future years. The Global Platform provides end-to-end support in consolidating global demand to shape the market, and assists countries with the selection of medicines, development of treatment standards and the building of information systems to track that effective care is being provided.
At present, the Global Platform is working with 12 participating countries: Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Jordan, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Zambia.
For more information, please contact:
WHO Sri Lanka Country Office
Email: sesrlregistry@who.int