{"id":19329,"date":"2026-01-12T18:37:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T18:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/19329\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T18:37:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T18:37:08","slug":"ethiopia-launches-pediatric-neuro-oncology-initiative-to-combat-childhood-cancer-ena-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/19329\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia Launches Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Initiative to Combat Childhood Cancer – ENA English"},"content":{"rendered":"

Addis Ababa, January 12, 2026 (ENA)\u2014In a historic step for the nation\u2019s healthcare system, Ethiopia has officially launched the Ethiopian Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Society (ESPHO), a strategic initiative aimed at transforming care for children battling cancer and blood disorders.<\/p>\n

The inaugural ceremony in Addis Ababa brought together hundreds of healthcare professionals and was attended by State Minister of Health, Dr. Dereje Duguma, alongside senior officials.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Dereje described the launch as a \u2018paradigm shift\u2019 in Ethiopia\u2019s approach to children\u2019s healthcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cAddressing pediatric cancer requires a unified front,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cESPHO is essential for gathering data, training specialized personnel, and ensuring early diagnosis. The Ministry of Health is committed to working alongside this society to build a resilient healthcare infrastructure for our children,\u201d Dereje underlined. <\/p>\n

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Pediatric cancer remains a pressing challenge in Ethiopia, with an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 children diagnosed annually, yet fewer than 2,000 receiving timely treatment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In response, the Ministry of Health has unveiled a five-year roadmap to expand screening, improve access to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and increase the number of specialized treatment centers nationwide.<\/p>\n

On his part, Dr. Abel Hailu, President of ESPHO, highlighted the remarkable progress made over the last decade. <\/p>\n

\u201cFifteen years ago, pediatric oncology services were virtually non-existent. Today, we have eight hospitals providing radiotherapy and seven specialized clinics,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Abel also emphasized the society\u2019s holistic approach, which includes training over 30 pediatric oncologists, implementing nutrition programs to combat treatment-related malnutrition, and providing mental health support to 3,000 young patients.<\/p>\n

The launch drew international acclaim.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Prof. Jennifer Geel, President of the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), expressed optimism that Ethiopia\u2019s cure rates\u2014currently lower than those in wealthier nations\u2014could rise to 50 precent, with a long-term aim of matching the 85 percent survival rates achieved globally.<\/p>\n

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Prof. Sheila Weitzman of the University of Toronto stressed the importance of localized research to ensure treatments are tailored to Ethiopia\u2019s specific environmental and resource contexts.<\/p>\n

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Looking ahead, ESPHO aims to reach a 60 percent global survival rate by 2030 and will host the 2027 SIOP Africa Conference, signaling Ethiopia\u2019s growing leadership in pediatric oncology.<\/p>\n

National Honorary Ambassador Lelise Dhuga summed up the day\u2019s spirit: \u201cToday begins a new journey where no child should lose their life to cancer simply because of where they were born.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Addis Ababa, January 12, 2026 (ENA)\u2014In a historic step for the nation\u2019s healthcare system, Ethiopia has officially launched…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[65,305,960],"class_list":{"0":"post-19329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ethiopia","8":"tag-ethiopia","9":"tag-featured","10":"tag-social"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}