MSF: Delivering cancer care to women in humanitarian crises ​

The burden of cancer is already a growing public health threat in many countries where MSF works – and women are disproportionately affected. About 80 per cent of deaths from breast and cervical cancer worldwide happen in low and middle-income countries. By 2050, global health experts estimate the number of cancer cases in such countries will rise by 150 per cent. “Ten years ago during the Syrian crisis, we were ill-equipped to respond to the health needs of displaced people whose treatment for non-communicable diseases, including cancer, had been abruptly interrupted by the conflict,” says Dr Claire Rieux, MSF’s medical director. “Today, our teams provide cancer care, from screening to treatment and palliative care, in several countries. We partner with ministries of health, inspiring practitioners, community networks and experts in the fight against cancer. We are eager to keep learning and contribute to advance greater equity in this field.”

In Mali, more than 2,300 women received medical care for breast or cervical cancer between 2021 and 2025 through the program ran by MSF and its partners in Bamako. ​

A retrospective study to assess treatment results of women cared for by MSF and the Malian Ministry of Health between 2019 and 2022 shows tangible progress – despite unreliable access to radiotherapy, security constraints and the many obstacles that stand in the way of care journey for people living with cancer. Only one quarter of the patients were diagnosed at an early stage of the disease, but the proportion kept improving over time – for instance, for women with cervical cancer, it doubled between 2019 (14 per cent) and 2022 (28 per cent). The retrospective study also found global survival rates for women with breast cancer that stood at 91 per cent a year after the diagnosis and 72 per cent after three years. These rates are promising but should be dealt with caution given the high proportion of patients whose survival status was unknown in the study (30 per cent of “lost to follow up” patients).

“Our efforts have also been focused on supporting people on their care pathway, providing health education, psychological care and social support, and working closely with local associations and survivors. Medicines and clinical protocols alone are not enough: people with cancer need clear information, emotional and practical support, and continuity of care to help them navigate treatment and cope with the wider impact of the disease on their lives and families”, says Nancy Kamwaza, MSF’s health promotion and community engagement manager in Malawi. ​ ​

In Malawi, our program in Blantyre helps to tackle the world’s second highest cervical cancer mortality rates by facilitating access to palliative care and treatment, including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, and to prevention tools, including vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), early screening and treatment of precancerous lesions. In Blantyre district, the coverage of cervical cancer screening increased from 40 per cent in 2019 to close to 60 per cent last year. MSF also joined the PAVE study, an international research project designed to trial a new, low-cost strategy for screening and treating pre-cancerous cervical lesions in resource-limited settings. The strategy, which combines HPV genotyping and artificial intelligence-automated visual evaluation to detect precancerous lesions, was found particularly effective to achieve better detection and to better identify the most at-risk women in need of urgent treatment. Yet improved screening yields limited results if the next stages of diagnostic and care remain unavailable, unaffordable or oversubscribed.

MSF’s work in cancer care has contributed to show that it is possible to diagnose, prevent and treat cancer even in fragile and humanitarian settings when people with cancer have access to coordinate and adequately resourced care. However, in many resource limited settings, high prices, drug shortages, limited specialised human resources and weak supply chain and procurement system continue to prevent people diagnosed with cancer to access treatment and care.

“Too often, people with cancer are denied access to treatment and care not because effective tools do not exist, but because they are priced out of reach, unavailable when they are needed, or not suitable for resource-limited settings and countries. It’s time for countries and funders to show a strong political will to close this gap by investing in cancer care and ensuring that lifesaving diagnostics and treatments are affordable, adaptable and available for people in low resource and humanitarian settings,” says Dr Zarak Jan, MSF Access advocacy advisor.

Speaking at the World Cancer Congress hosted in Hong Kong is a unique opportunity for MSF to advocate for greater access to comprehensive care for people with cancer, ​ exchange ideas with the global cancer community and learn about the latest innovations and successful initiatives in cancer control. ​

Note to editors:

Over the last five years, MSF has developed and supported cancer-related activities in countries including Malawi, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Eswatini. Read our fact sheet to know more:

MSF will speak on Friday 25 September in two sessions: Cancer care in humanitarian crises: from neglect to action (link) and Making cancer care possible: sharing experiences from MSF in humanitarian and low-resource settings (link).