According to a press release from the ministry, the GPACCM Platform is a global mechanism established by WHO and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on December 13, 2021, to develop global solutions and increase access to medicines for pediatric cancers worldwide. The platform, the first of its kind, aims to provide safe, effective and quality cancer drugs without financial hardship to approximately 120,000 children in 50 low- and middle-income countries over the next five years and to increase survival rates for children with cancer to 60% by 2030.
Each year, 400,000 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer worldwide, 90% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries. In comparison, in high-income countries, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured. In low- and middle-income countries, the rate is less than 30%. Preventable deaths are caused by lack of diagnosis, misdiagnosis or delay, barriers to accessing care, refusal of treatment, death due to toxicity and recurrence.
The Republic of Moldova has been identified among the six countries that will join the mechanism in 2025. About 100 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed in the country every year. The five-year survival rate for childhood cancer in Moldova is about 60%, which is an improvement but still below the regional average.
The delivery of the first batch of free medicines for children with cancer in Moldova is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2025.
Prior to the signing of the agreement, representatives from WHO and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, together with UNICEF colleagues, conducted the first joint mission to RM under the GPACCM Platform from May 5-7, 2025. The visit included an assessment of the infrastructure and stock of medicines in the Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Departments of the Institute of Oncology, analysis of the stock management system and standard operating procedures, technical discussions on forecasting and planning of the need for medicines.
