How can we finance global cancer care? This event, hosted by the RCS England - LSE Global Surgery Policy Unit, provided an opportunity to hear from expert health economists and health system specialists to discuss the funding options available globally.
Cancer has become a leading cause of death worldwide accounting for nearly one in six deaths (nearly 10 million deaths in 2020). Cancer disproportionately affects people in low- and middle-income countries where there is a higher chance of late presentation and often limited access to preventative strategies, diagnostics, treatment and palliative care.
How can we finance global cancer care and treatment? This panel-session discussed the scale of the problem, how cancer financing works, innovative solutions to raise funds for cancer care, and how cancer control systems can be marketed to political leaders. It featured insightful conversations with expert health economists and health system specialists. Participants interacted with panellists during a Q&A session, fostering a deeper understanding of cancer care financing.
This event was part of the London Global Cancer Week (LGCW) programme. Since 2019, LGCW has hosted a week-long series of multi-disciplinary meetings, covering the cancer continuum and aiming to connect experts from around the world to improve cancer outcomes globally.
Read the full event agenda here.
Meet our speakers
Dr Rocco Friebel is a trained Health Economist, currently serving as Director of the Global Surgery Policy Unit, Deputy Director of LSE Health, Programme Director of the Executive MSc in Healthcare Decision-Making, and Associate Professor of Health Policy in the Department of Health Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is the Editor in Chief of Health Economics, Policy and Law (Cambridge University Press) and leads the European Health Policy Group.
Miss Rachel Hargest is a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Cardiff, Consultant Surgeon, and Co-Director of the Global Surgery Policy Unit. She is a council member and former trustee of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal Society of Medicine. She has won multiple awards for excellence in both clinical practice (BMJ Gastroenterology team of the year award 2015, NHS Wales award for improving patient care 2011) and training (Silver Scalpel 2017, FST Medal 2019).
Dr Rifat Atun is Professor of Global Health Systems at Harvard University and the Faculty Chair for the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program. Professor Atun was formerly Professor of International Health Management and Head of the Health Management Group at Imperial College London. Between 2008-12 he served as a member of the Executive Management Team of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria as the Director of Strategy, Performance and Evaluation Cluster, where he chaired the panel that oversaw investments of around $4billion each year in more than 100 countries.
Robert Yates is an Honorary Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Dr Martilord Ifeanyichi is a medical doctor, health systems economist, and pharmacoeconomist. He currently works as an Assistant Professorial Research Fellow at LSE Health. His research interest lies in the economics and dynamic complexities of surgical systems in low and middle-income countries, and he possesses extensive field experience in conducting empirical hospital- and community-level studies in sub-Saharan Africa. He has published in the International Journal of Health Policy and Management (IJHPM), BMC Health Services Research, BMJ Global Health, Journal of Global Health, PLOS ONE, and BMJ Quality & Safety.
More about this event
This panel-session was hosted by the RCS England - LSE Global Surgery Policy Unit. The GSPU is a unique and strategic collaboration between the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the London School of Economics and Political Science. Established to advance global public health, surgical and anaesthesia care, with a particular focus on low- and middle-income countries, the Unit aims to increase access to safe, affordable, high-quality surgery, to improve public health, patient safety and population health outcomes.