Pfizer Foundation invests US$15M to support breast cancer care in Africa

GHANA—The Pfizer Foundation has announced a US$15 million investment in a three-year initiative to improve breast cancer care for women in Rwanda, Ghana, and Tanzania.

The funding will be channeled through two global health nonprofit organizations, Jhpiego and Partners in Health, to strengthen local health systems and tackle barriers to timely diagnosis, treatment, and care.

This effort is being implemented in collaboration with the ministries of health in these countries.

The initiative focuses on three key strategies to improve outcomes for women with breast cancer.

First, it seeks to promote early detection by encouraging community-based education and screening programs.

By identifying the disease in its earlier, more treatable stages, the initiative aims to reduce the number of advanced-stage diagnoses.

 Second, it strives to make diagnostic services more accessible by integrating screening into primary healthcare and expanding these services to provincial and district-level facilities.

Third, the initiative will work to accelerate treatment access by addressing delays between diagnosis and care.

 This involves enhancing patient navigation and referral services and setting up satellite clinics closer to communities.

By improving these systems, women can begin treatment sooner, reducing the risk of the disease progressing to more severe stages.

In addition to these efforts, the program emphasizes generating evidence and conducting implementation research to better understand effective breast cancer interventions.

This data will inform future investments and help establish scalable models for addressing breast cancer care gaps.

Caroline Roan, President of The Pfizer Foundation and Senior Vice President of Global Health and Social Impact at Pfizer, expressed the organization’s commitment to ensuring equitable access to quality care.

 “We believe that everyone, regardless of where they live, deserves access to quality healthcare,” she said.

Breast cancer remains a significant challenge worldwide, with over 2.3 million diagnoses in 2022 alone.

While survival rates in high-income countries exceed 90%, they average just 40% in sub-Saharan Africa.

This disparity is due to late diagnoses, limited healthcare facilities, shortages of trained professionals, financial challenges, and social stigma.

Jhpiego’s CEO, Dr. Leslie Mancuso, emphasized the importance of providing dignified care, while Partners in Health CEO, Dr. Sheila Davis, highlighted the need to bring services closer to communities.

This collaboration represents a critical step in transforming breast cancer care in under-resourced settings and building healthier futures for women in Africa.

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