Written by:
Pelin Incesu
Area Vice President for Middle East & Africa, AstraZeneca
With the Cancer Care Africa programme, together with our partners, we are stepping up to
overcome the rising burden of cancer in Africa. By redefining cancer care and enhancing
the resilience and sustainability of health systems, we are making healthcare more
accessible.
Cancer in Africa: The rising burden
Cancer is an urgent and growing health concern in Africa. It is now the continent's fifth leading cause of death, with more than 1.1 million new cases in 2020 alone.1 Approximately 70% of 10 million cancer deaths each year occur in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).2 Despite having almost 80% of the burden, LMICs have less than an estimated 5% share of the global resources for combating cancer.3 The forecast for Africa by 2040 requires impactful global interventions, with 2.1 million cancer cases and 1.4 million deaths expected annually.1
Even with these stark figures, quality cancer care remains inaccessible to many Africans due to inadequate diagnostic facilities, low patient awareness, lack of training for healthcare providers, and difficulties accessing preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic resources. These barriers disproportionately affect underserved populations, exacerbating existing health disparities.4,5
Despite these challenges, significant opportunities exist to provide equitable and sustainable access to cancer care in Africa. Countries are recognising the burden cancer places on health systems and are increasing their investments to improve patient outcomes. However, these efforts need amplification and support from all stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem to effectively address the growing disease burden.
Our commitment to fighting cancer
At AstraZeneca, our ambition is to provide cures for cancer in all its forms. Our quest involves understanding cancer in its complexities and working tirelessly to discover, develop, and deliver life-changing treatments. We aim to save lives through advances in our medicines and also by closing gaps in cancer care ecosystems across the world, ensuring all patients have access to the care they need. This can only be achieved in partnership with the cancer community, healthcare systems, and governments, aiming to alleviate the burden of cancer on patients and society.
Introducing Cancer Care Africa
Cancer Care Africa is our response to the growing cancer burden on the African continent, addressing the urgent need for action. Launched in November 2022 at COP27 in Egypt, Cancer Care Africa aids countries in their fight against cancer by advocating for policy changes to improve outcomes for all individuals affected by the disease, irrespective of their demographic, geographic, or socio-economic status. It also encourages the adoption of innovative health technologies to make cancer screening more accessible, especially in remote and underserved communities.
Following its launch, in 2024 Cancer Care Africa expanded to Kenya, symbolising the growth of its footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa, with further initiatives in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast.
Together with our partners, Cancer Care Africa will co-create a stronger cancer care ecosystem for all, with meticulously planned efforts that revolves around four pillars of care.
The programme is focused on these pillars of action as part of our ambition 2030:
1. Building capacity and capabilities: We are committed to supporting more than 100 oncology centres and providing training for more than 13,000 healthcare professionals to improve the quality of care delivered to patients across the continent
2. Enhancing screening and diagnostics: We aim to enhance screening and diagnostics for lung, breast, and prostate cancer, targeting over one million people
3. Empowering Patients: Our initiatives are designed to address the needs of patients, supporting increased disease awareness and informed patient decision-making
4. Enabling access to medicines: We strive to enhance the availability of critical cancer medicines by introducing flexible models that can provide access to our innovative treatments
5. Research and real word evidence: We support local capacity in clinical research and local data generation
Cancer Care Africa adopts a country-specific approach, collaborating with in-country external partners and stakeholders, including cancer experts, researchers, patients, health tech firms, government officials, and policymakers, to establish sustainable and resilient cancer care ecosystems that can transform patient outcomes. Although locally led, Cancer Care Africa is also uniting expertise across borders through its preceptorship programmes designed to maximise the skills and knowledge transfer opportunities within the African continent.
Cancer Care Africa: Achievements and Ambitions
Cancer Care Africa has made remarkable progress in addressing the challenges of cancer care delivery across the continent.
In 2024, the programme screened over 160,000 individuals, and through early interventions has successfully diagnosed more than 6,000 patients and has improved outcomes. Additionally, extensive training initiatives were conducted, driving substantial improvements in the professional capabilities of over 13,000 healthcare workers and strengthening oncology healthcare infrastructure particularly through Breast, Lung, Prostate and Ovarian Cancers.
In 2025, Cancer Care Africa aims to amplify these outcomes even further. The programme’s ambition is to bring further attention and action for breast cancer while expanding its reach in Sub-Saharan Africa. In NEMAG region and Egypt, the focus will encompass scaling up existing efforts on screening and diagnostic capabilities for lung and prostate cancers patients through supporting cross-border training initiatives and bringing state-of-the-art innovations that include establishing digital pathology infrastructure.
Advancing cancer care for people, society, and planet
Through sustained collaborative efforts, Cancer Care Africa remains dedicated to redefining cancer care, and promoting equitable and sustainable healthcare ecosystems to improve the lives of people living on this continent – we must act now in Africa, for Africa.
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References
1. Frontiers in Public Health. Mapping Cancer in Africa: A Comprehensive and Comparable Characterization of 34 Cancer Types Using Estimates from GLOBOCAN 2020. Front Public Health [Internet]. [cited June 2025]. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.839835/full
2. American Cancer Society. (n.d.). Global cancer burden. Retrieved June 2025, from https://www.cancer.org/about-us/our-global-health-work/global-cancer-burden.html
3. Ocran Mattila, P., Ahmad, R., Hasan, S. S., & Babar, Z. (2021). Availability, Affordability, Access, and Pricing of Anti-cancer Medicines in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review of Literature. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 628744. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.628744
4. World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa. Where does cancer care stand in Africa today? [Internet]. April 2025 [cited June 2025]. Available from: https://www.afro.who.int/news/where-does-cancer-care-stand-africa-today
5. Stefan D. C. (2015). Cancer Care in Africa: An Overview of Resources. Journal of global oncology, 1(1), 30–36. https://doi.org/10.1200/JGO.2015.000406
Veeva ID: Z4-73652
Date of preparation: June 2025
