Most childhood cancers can be cured with generic medicines and other forms of treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy. Therefore, the majority of children with cancer can be saved. 

However, in low-income countries: 

• Childhood cancer is often detected too late
• There is an insufficient number of well-trained health professionals 
• Appropriate treatment is often unavailable or not affordable 
• Pain management and palliative care are limited 
• Childhood cancer is often not a health priority

To address inequality of survival rate according to geographies, My Child Matters program was launched in 2005 to support children with cancer and their families. The program aims to improve diagnosis, access to care, treatment adherence, and strengthen healthcare systems in low to middle income countries.

Since 2005, My Child Matters has provided support to over 140,000 children with cancer and to over 45,000 healthcare professionals. 

“Through partnerships with more than 30 organizations, Foundation S started over 50 new My Child Matters projects in its first year in Africa, Asia and Latin America” said Dr Isabelle Villadary, head of childhood cancer program. 

The projects selected target three key pillars:

1. Children Care: Creating ultimate environment for children care by:

• Giving access to care 
• Enhancing pain management and palliative care 

2. Family Support: Ensuring the right conditions to support families by:

• Focusing on no treatment abandonment

3. Healthcare Strengthening: Support healthcare training by: 

• Improving capacity building especially healthcare professional training 
• Supporting early cancer diagnosis 

Building on My Child Matters legacy, we aim to:

• Identify system changing initiatives 
• Empower local teams leading social or organizational innovations 
• Leverage My Child Matters Program to the next level
• Support scaling up and cross fertilization between countries or grant recipients