THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) has designated St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital as the first WHO Collaborating Center for Childhood Cancer. With this collaboration, both organizations aim to expand efforts to develop strategies to strengthen the global resources, organization, and planning needed to identify and treat pediatric cancer.
To this new collaboration, WHO brings its expertise in working with government and civil society leaders across health systems globally. St. Jude offers experience working with multidisciplinary care providers essential to implementing and sustaining successful programs in countries around the world.
Cancer control is an important component of WHO’s efforts to address noncommunicable diseases and promote universal health coverage around the world. The organization is setting norms and standards for cancer control, including the development of evidence-based and timely diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care programs. The WHO also promotes monitoring and evaluating programs and institutions through registries and research tailored to the local disease burden and available resources. The St. Jude program develops integrated models of education, capacity building, and research, resulting in steady improvements in the outcomes of children with cancer. ■
