St. Jude Global poster showcase provides insights and updates on Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer

Communicating is the backbone of the scientific and medical community. By sharing information about research projects and care initiatives, investigators can learn from each other, sparking innovation and inspiring advancements. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the first and only World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer, is a hub for communication between collaborators worldwide. 

St. Jude worked with WHO and other global collaborators to launch the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC) at the United Nations in 2018. The ensuing support St. Jude provides includes implementing its CureAll approach to achieve at least a 60% survival for children with six of the most common types of cancer by 2030.

With growing momentum, 76 countries are now engaged in the GICC. Of those, 43 have achieved the status of focus countries, which means their engagement in the GICC is formalized in writing between the government and WHO. There were 13 new focus countries in 2023.

Poster showcase shares progress

Leading up to International Childhood Cancer Day on February 15, 2024, St. Jude Global worked with WHO to host the 2nd Global CureAll Poster Showcase. A poster session is a mainstay of scientific communication, where projects are summarized and shared with the community. The CureAll Poster Showcase enabled participating countries to report insights and updates on respective activities as part of the GICC. 

Nineteen countries representing six WHO regions contributed eligible posters to the 2024 showcase, highlighting the great work happening in their respective countries and giving collaboration ideas to others.

“The CureAll Poster Showcase started because we were excited to continue capturing the progress,” said Catherine Lam, MD MPH, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer as well as director of the St. Jude Global Asia Pacific Regional Program and Health Systems Unit. “It wasn’t enough just to capture the global map and see that we are at 76 countries engaged in the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer.

“We wanted to go more in-depth and to understand what means the most to the country teams,” Lam continued. “We wanted them to share the progress in their countries in their own words and the plans they are looking forward to implementing.”

The poster insights included country-specific details such as the number of hospitals with a dedicated unit for childhood cancer, an overview of key completed and pending CureAll deliverables, lessons learned and CureAll metrics toward 2030 goals, among other topics.

Webinar enables global connections

The global community also stays connected and shares their work by presenting online. The WHO International Childhood Cancer Day webinar on February 15, 2024, honored all participating country teams that contributed a poster to the showcase. Ongoing region-specific webinars are also featuring presentations of these submitted posters. Altogether, these are opportunities to recognize individual country milestones and achievements that will play an integral role in reaching the goals of the GICC.

“Thank you to everyone for joining us on this important day following Valentine’s Day. The love we put into our children deserves that celebration today and for many more days in the year,” said Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD, St. Jude executive vice president and director of St. Jude Global, in opening his remarks during the ICCD event. 

“As the WHO Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer, St. Jude has a unique role in helping implement the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer with WHO and other organizations and global agencies. We do this to achieve our dream for every child, everywhere, no matter where that child is,” said Rodriguez-Galindo. “St. Jude is committed to supporting all of you in these efforts.”

Lam participated in the ICCD webinar from the Philippines, where she opened her remarks by recognizing the fifth anniversary of both the implementation of that country’s National Integrated Cancer Control Act and the Philippines becoming the first GICC focus country in the Western Pacific region.

“At St. Jude Global, we love being with our partners and being able to work on the ground to celebrate what we’re all striving for, which is to see more children with cancer thrive and to see families and providers thrive as well,” she said. “We look forward to continuing to work together with you all toward our shared goals for many years to come.”

This commitment from St. Jude is part of the institution’s $12.9 billion strategic plan, which emphasizes accelerating progress globally.