PHOTO CREDIT – ADOBE
When we hear the word “cancer,” our minds often leap to adult diagnoses particularly breast cancer in women, yet another crisis quietly unfolds: children and adolescents being diagnosed with cancer in alarming numbers. Both situations deserve our urgent attention because they are not only rising, but also acutely shaped by global inequalities.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call on every nation to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, at every age. This is what the SDG 3 on Good Health and Well-being seeks to achieve and reduce premature mortality.
Unlike cancer in adults, most childhood cancers do not have a known cause. Many studies have sought to identify the causes of childhood cancer, but very few cancers in children are caused by genetic mutations, environmental and lifestyle factors. Therefore, cancer prevention efforts in children should focus on behaviours that will prevent the child from developing preventable cancer as an adult.
According to WHO, each year approximately 400,000 children and adolescents aged 0-19 years develop cancer worldwide. Some of the most common types of childhood cancer include leukemias, brain tumours, lymphomas and solid tumours such as neuroblastoma and wilms tumour.
The Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation states that pediatric cancer is a worldwide problem and in every two minutes, a family and their child is told of a cancer diagnosis.
In Ghana, according to WHO about 1,200 children develop cancer each year yet only around 20-30% are diagnosed and treated.
Cancer is also a leading cause of death for children and adolescents. Unfortunately, the likelihood of surviving a diagnosis of childhood cancer depends on the country in which the child lives; in high-income countries, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured, but in many low middle income countries more than 30% are cured.
It’s time to commit to raise awareness in communities, support policies that improve access and reduce inequities and advocate for every child to have the right to early diagnosis and effective treatment. Because the numbers tell a story of possibility and urgency.
Last modified: November 29, 2025