Centre working towards achieving survival rate of 60 pc for childhood cancer by 2030

The Centre is working towards achieving a survival rate of 60 per cent for childhood cancer by 2030, Deputy Director General of Health Services L Swasticharan said.

Identifying childhood cancer as a key government priority, Swasticharan said, “We should not leave anybody behind. They should all survive and contribute to the Viksit Bharat 2047 that we are dreaming of.”

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He was speaking at an event to mark the International Childhood Cancer Day observed globally on February 15.

Assuring full support from the Central government, including innovative funding models, Swasticharan said though there is no separate National Policy on childhood cancer, the existing framework has enough scope to accommodate the programmes for access and financial support for Universal Health Coverage for children with cancer and their families.

The event, organised by CanKids KidsCan, demonstrated the impact of challenges to change. significant progress has been achieved — access to care has doubled from 27 per cent in 2019–20 to over 54 per cent in 2025, with 9 state governments making childhood cancer a child health priority.

Building on these achievements, the way forward is clear: towards 100 per cent access, 100 per cent financial protection, and 60 per cent survival by 2030, in alignment with national health priorities and the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer.

Prof Sameer Bakshi, Medical Oncology, AIIMS, stressed on strengthening systems that save lives and improving access and survival among childhood cancer patients.

Poonam Bagai, Member, ICMR Central Ethics Committee on Human Research, and Childhood Cancer International’s WHO South East Asia Region Representative, highlighted the need for dialogue, solutions and policy integration which the newly-formed Technical Expert Group for childhood cancer will help to secure.

Bagai, Founder Chairman, CanKids KidsCan and Vice Chairman, Pallium India, said, “We want the society to believe that cancer can be treated. Even if we are a low-income country we have made a lot of achievements.”

The event also saw strong voices of support for systems and capital from former IAS officer from Punjab Karan Avtar Singh, CSR legislation advocate Nikhil Pant and banker Piyush Gupta. Childhood Cancer Survivors Excellence Awards were given to Doctor Tanveer Ahmed and Asian Youth medallist in sports climber Shivani Charak.

Meanwhile, in a separate interaction on the topic of childhood cancer, Dr. Raman Narang, MOC, cancer care and research centre, Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi while airing his views on the subject said, “The expansion of paediatric oncology services is a welcome step, but infrastructure gaps remain in trained workforce availability, long-term survivorship clinics, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support. As more children survive cancer, the healthcare system must also prepare for lifelong follow-up addressing late effects, education, fertility, and quality of life.”