Only 40% of the estimated 1,000 children who get cancer each year in Malawi will receive a diagnosis and survival rates for many forms of cancer are still low. The healthcare infrastructure is under-developed with only 1 doctor trained in paediatric oncology and a shortage of trained nursing staff. Facilities such as pathology, surgery, imaging and palliative care are also overstretched. Families struggle to cover the costs of travel, food and medicines; resulting in treatment abandonment.

World Child Cancer works with the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), Blantyre and facilitates a partnership with the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle and VU University Medical Centre in Amsterdam. This partnership provides training for the team in Blantyre, enhancing their ability to successfully diagnose and treat more children. We are also working to raise public awareness of childhood cancer in Malawi and to offer assistance to families to reduce treatment refusal and abandonment.