Starting with a focus on cervical cancer, the Quad Countries—the U.S., Australia, India, and Japan—are launching a Cancer Moonshot initiative to strengthen the Indo-Pacific’s cancer care ecosystem. This initiative aims to expand research collaborations, build data systems, and provide greater support for cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and care.
This cervical cancer initiative alone is expected to save hundreds of thousands of lives over the coming decades. Leading companies, including Becton Dickinson & Co., Illumina, and Roche Diagnostics are playing key roles.
According to the World Health Organization, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally with around 660,000 new cases and around 350,000 deaths in 2022. It is the third leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Quad release.
Cervical cancer is preventable through vaccination and usually treatable if detected early, but the Quad reports that fewer than one in 10 women in the Indo-Pacific have completed their human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination series, and fewer than 10% have undergone recent screening.
Many countries in the region face challenges related to healthcare access, limited resources, and disparities in vaccination rates. Through this initiative, Quad countries will work to promote HPV vaccination, increase access to screenings, and expand treatment options and care in underserved areas.
These steps build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to ending cancer as we know it. More than two years ago, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot with the goals of reducing the cancer death rate in the United States by at least half—preventing more than 4 million cancer deaths—by 2047, and “improving the experience of people who are touched by cancer.”
By working together, the Quad countries aim to improve prevention, detection, and treatment while reducing impact of cancer on patients and their families. Quad partners also intend to collaborate in advancing research and development in the area of cancer and to increase private sector and non-governmental sector activities in support of reducing the burden of cervical cancer in the region.
The following financial commitments were made to the initiative:
The United States made an early pledge of at least $1.58 billion over five years for HPV vaccines in the Indo-Pacific.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it intends to commit up to $180 million over four years to help accelerate the global uptake of HPV vaccines, develop new prophylactic HPV and therapeutic vaccines and diagnostic tools, and fund clinical studies.
Japan is providing medical equipment, including Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanners, and other assistance worth approximately $27 million, to countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Through the Japan International Cooperation Agency and other organizations, Japan has also committed approximately $75 million from FY2019 to FY2023 in the Indo-Pacific for combating cancer including cervical cancer.
Women investors and philanthropists of the Women Health and Economic Empowerment Network (WHEN) say they will deploy a joint investment of more than $100 million over the next three years, with funding targeted for cervical cancer in Southeast Asia.
