The panel discussion will explore how cancer care in Africa is being reinvented through the power of multistakeholder partnerships.

This session aims to share insights about the city cancer challenge initiative in Africa, current partnership efforts, practices and lessons learned in multi-stakeholder engagement. The session will be focused on three priority domains: policy and planning, quality care delivery, and health systems and governance.

Sharing their insights and lessons learned through the City Cancer Challenge initiative in Africa, distinguished speakers will dive into how cross-cutting partnerships can drive policy and planning, quality care delivery, and health systems and governance.

The session is opened to cancer care policymakers, cancer care multidisciplinary teams, civil society organizations involved in cancer care and in advocacy, global health professionals and other allied cancer care professionals, cancer registrars, national cancer control planning officers, ministries of health, surveillance department at ministries of health, health professionals, private and public sector sectors, civil society, students, and the academia.

ASCO has been involved with City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) as a technical and implementation partner since the organization was formed in 2017. ASCO is committed to working with C/Can to further its mission of supporting cities around the world through improved access to equitable, high-quality cancer care. Before the pandemic, ASCO was in discussions with colleagues from both Kumasi, Ghana and Kigali, Rwanda to host in-person multidisciplinary educational events and guidelines discussions. However, once it became clear that the pandemic would be with us for some time, a virtual program was created. The oncology community in Kumasi developed breast and cervical cancer treatment guidelines based on their available resources and health systems structure. Then ASCO convened expert panel reviews, together with input from several institutions and organizations, to provide international expert consultations of the guidelines. Final guidelines were developed over the course of three months and are now being implemented and tested throughout the city of Kumasi. To further support and continue the work done through the guidelines discussion, ASCO organized 12 virtual educational sessions including didactic presentations on breast and cervical cancer, as well as local case presentations from Kumasi colleagues. Vanessa Sarchet will provide an overview of these activities as well as an update related to the guidelines implementation and use. She will share data on attendee feedback on the virtual educational sessions and plans for continued collaboration. She will comment on the opportunities (and sometimes challenges) presented through ASCO’s multi-partner collaborations and activities with C/Can. If time allows, she will also share information about other opportunities with ASCO for C/Can participants, including professional development, research and training opportunities.