The three-year project aims to improve the effectiveness of breast and cervical cancer programs in a number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

PAHO Foundation and IFPMA launch today the annual report of the public-private partnership (PPP) Women’s Cancer Initiative in the Americas. The three-year project aims to improve the effectiveness of breast and cervical cancer programs in at least 2 LAC countries and improve the quality and effectiveness of cancer registries in at least 4 LAC countries.

Breast and cervical cancer are the most common cancers affecting women; cancer is the second leading cause of death in LAC. Breast and cervical cancer are highly amenable to early detection and cure, but women continue to die prematurely from these diseases due to a number of barriers in the health care services and infrastructure.

The first year of this partnership saw great progress along three work streams. First, raising awareness of breast and cervical cancer to empower women to seek screening and early detection services. To this end, the partnership produced a number of educational materials for the public on breast and cervical cancer prevention, detection and treatment. Second, carrying out a pilot project with the Ministry of Health in Chile to strengthen national cervical cancer screening programs as well as a series of policy workshops with government officials and health experts. Third, holding a cancer registry training with relevant officials in 11 countries, in collaboration with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and hosted by the National Cancer Institute of Argentina.

With many of the fundamentals now in place after the 1^st year of the Women’s Cancer Initiative in the Americas, 2016 will yield further results in the fight against women’s cancers in the Americas. A key milestone for the partnership in 2016 will be a regional forum for breast cancer screening and detection, with a view to developing a set of quality standards for mammography to be locally adapted with LAC.

“We are very pleased to report on the first year of progress since launching the Women’s Cancer Initiative; our goal is to secure long-term improvements in screening, early detection and treatment of breast and cervical cancers in the region through this partnership and with others in the future,” commented Jennie Ward-Robinson, President and CEO of PAHO Foundation.

“Focused efforts are critical in ensuring transformational health outcomes; we joined this initiative to drive for real impact by equipping and empowering women and healthcare professionals with data, knowledge and efficient tools,” said Eduardo Pisani, Director General, IFPMA. 

About the Partnership: infographic   

About PAHO Foundation: PAHO Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization that seeks to strengthen PAHO’s ability to improve and save lives in the Americas, and to set an example for the rest of the world in public health philanthropy. The Foundation fully supports PAHO’s mission of promoting equity in health, combating disease and improving the health, longevity and quality of life of all the peoples of the Americas.

About IFPMA: IFPMA represents the research-based pharmaceutical companies and associations across the globe. The research-based pharmaceutical industry’s 2 million employees research, develop and provide medicines and vaccines that improve the life of patients worldwide. Based in Geneva, IFPMA has official relations with the United Nations and contributes industry expertise to help the global health community find solutions that improve global health.

International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations

International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations

The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA) represents research-based pharmaceutical companies and associations across the globe. Based in Geneva, IFPMA has official relations with the United Nations and contributes industry expertise to help the global health community find solutions that improve global health.

Research-based pharmaceutical companies make a unique contribution to global health as innovators of life-saving and life-changing medicines and vaccines, which improved millions of lives around the world. Both IFPMA and its companies are involved in hundreds of partnerships, including the Access Accelerated initiative, a partnership of over 20 biopharmaceutical companies developing innovative and sustainable solutions to improve access to non-communicable disease (NCDs) treatment and care in low- and middle income countries. Access Accelerated also partners with the World Bank and the Union of International Cancer Control to help address the full spectrum of access barriers to NCD medicines. These partnerships involve the discovery of treatments that threaten health security or unduly put a burden on low-income countries, as well as support Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by expanding access to medicines and vaccines and strengthening health systems and in doing so, contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3 and SDG 17).

IFPMA hosts the Secretariat of the AMR Industry Alliance, a coalition of over 100 biotechnology, diagnostic, generics and research-based biopharmaceutical companies and trade associations that was formed to drive and measure industry progress to curb antimicrobial resistance. IFPMA also played a key role in establishing the AMR Action Fund, a ground-breaking initiative involving over 20 biopharmaceutical companies, that aims to bring 2-4 new antibiotics to patients by 2030.

Other initiatives supported by IFPMA include: The African Global Health Leaders Fellowship, the Africa Young Innovators for Health Award, and Fight the Fakes.

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