By Vivian Onyebukwa
February 15th every year is marked as International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD). International Childhood Cancer Day is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness about childhood cancer, and to express support for children and adolescents with cancer, the survivours and their families.
The theme for this year is ‘throughtheirhands’, this time, concentrating on the families, that is, parents, siblings, and caregivers of these children. Through their hands, the children have achieved cure.
In a statement made available to the media by Nneka Nwobbi, Founder of Children Living With Cancer Foundation, a foremost childhood cancer charity in Nigeria, she said, “Together
on ICCD, we raise our voices and envision the day all children and adolescent with cancer benefit from the best possible treatment, care and support regardless of where they live in the world. Thus closing the care gap”.
According to her, every year, more than 400,000 children and adolescents below 20, are diagnosed with cancer. The rate of survival, Nwobbi said, depends on the region, with 80% survival in most high income countries but as low as 20% only in low and mIddle income countries. “The target goal of the WHO Global Childhood Cancer Initiative, is to eliminate all pain and suffering of children fighting cancer and achieve at least 60% survival for all children diagnosed with cancer around the world by 2030. This represents an approximate doubling of the current cure rate and will save an additional one million children’s lives over the next decade”.
Nwobbi made reference to the United Nations Rights of the Child, which states that children have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health.
She went further to state why it is important for every individual and organisation to show support and solidarity.
“On International Childhood Cancer Day, all members of Childhood Cancer International stand united to make childhood cancer a national and global child health priority to ensure there are adequate resources to meet the basic rights of children with cancer. We believe those basic rights for all children diagnosed with cancer include the right to early and proper diagnosis; right to access life-saving essential medicines; right to appropriate and quality medical treatments, and right to follow up care, services and sustainable livelihood opportunities for survivors. Furthermore, if a cure is not attainable, CCI stands by the right of the child to experience a pain-free death. While unfathomable in developed countries, the shocking reality for a majority of low-middle income nations is that children suffering from cancer will die excruciating deaths without any supportive care or pain management”.
ICCD was created in 2002 by Childhood Cancer International, a global network of
183 parent organisations, childhood cancer survivour associations, childhood cancer support groups, and cancer societies, in over 94 countries, including Nigeria across 5 continents.