City Cancer Challenge Foundation (C/Can) launches new call for applications

The City Cancer Challenge Foundation (C/Can), launched by UICC in 2017, is building community-led cancer care solutions from the ground up for an increasingly urbanised world. Over half (54%) of the world’s population currently lives in cities and the percentage of people living in urban areas is projected to increase from 60% in 2030 to 66% by 2050.  

Selected candidates from the call for application will join the nine partnering cities around the world [1] in supporting cities to develop solutions, policies and processes that help improve the lives of cancer patients and strengthen health systems for cancer care.
Together with C/Can, partnering cities identify gaps in cancer care and develop innovative and sustainable solutions, so that everyone can access the diagnosis, treatment and care they need. 

The global health pandemic has shed more light on the importance of maintaining a resilient health system to support patients. In many countries, national health authorities are struggling to address the pandemic in addition to existing health challenges. As a result, cities are becoming even more critical in leading efforts to provide quality cancer care.

“The way we address the challenges and opportunities we are faced with now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has the potential to transform health care for the future. Through local partnerships that bring together stakeholders from the public and private sector, we enforce that each sector has its role to play, to bring value to designing cancer care solutions that will simultaneously improve the lives of cancer patients today and strengthen health systems for cancer care.”
– Dr Susan Henshall, CEO of C/Can  

C/Can’s process supports cities to design and execute policies tailored to local realities. Cities have shown they can mobilise to confront serious threats like pollution, climate change and COVID-19. The mayors and local authorities have been put on the front line to address these issues. 

“Through our innovative and harmonised approach, cities are creating sustainable and scalable solutions to improve access to cancer care. We do this by focusing on three areas: supporting health systems strengthening, evidence-based decision making, and local ownership and sustainability. We provide cities with capacity building support to help them define quality standards and ensure harmonisation of practice in core areas including pathology, radiology, nuclear medicine, surgery, radiotherapy, medical oncology, and palliative care; as well as promoting ethics and patient-centred care.”
– Dr Susan Henshall, CEO of C/Can

Application process for cities to follow

The application process for the City Cancer Challenge is open for cities with over 1 million inhabitants. Via this website, cities are invited to assess their readiness to join C/Can in five key areas – local leadership and political commitment, partnerships, people-centered approach, enabling policy environment, and core cancer care pillars. C/Can’s Checklist can be used by cities to identify areas that need to be strengthened and serves as a resource for any city committed to improving access to quality, equitable, sustainable cancer care for its citizens.
 
After the deadline of 1st December, shortlisted cities will be invited to submit a full application and will be subject to a transparent and robust due diligence process before final selection.

About City Cancer Challenge Foundation

City Cancer Challenge Foundation (C/Can) supports cities around the world as they work to improve access to equitable, quality cancer care. C/Can leads a city-based partnership initiative that aims to improve access to quality cancer care in cities around the world by transforming the way stakeholders from the public and private sectors collectively design, plan, and implement cancer solutions. The approach is built on the core principle that cities can drive impact at national level by crafting data-driven solutions with the support of a network of global, regional, and local partners that reflect an understanding of the unique local context. C/Can was launched by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) at the 2017 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos. It was established as a standalone Swiss foundation in January 2019.

_________________________________________________

[1] Asunción (Paraguay), Cali (Colombia), Greater Petaling (Malaysia), Kigali (Rwanda), Kumasi (Ghana), León (Mexico), Porto Alegre (Brazil), Tbilisi (Georgia) and Yangon (Myanmar).