Cancer & Chronic Diseases
Partners In Health provides vital care for cancer, diabetes, and other non-communicable diseases in vulnerable communities and helps governments incorporate best practices into public health systems.
Our Impact
Our global cancer efforts deliver critical treatment and support to thousands annually, bridging gaps in care and improving access to essential services.
32,100patients with non-communicable diseasesin regular care yearly.
3,200patients receive cancer careevery year.
38,000mental health patientsevery year.
Diseases more commonly associated with wealthy countries, such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, are significantly on the rise in poor countries.
PIH rejects the suggestion that providing treatment for cancer or mental health or chronic disease is too challenging in resource-poor settings. Our work has shown that building health systems that address the actual burden of disease based on patient needs is possible anywhere in the world.
Why focus on cancer and chronic diseases?
The World Health Organization estimates that 41 million people die from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) yearly, with 15 million deaths occurring between the ages of 30 and 69 years. Although 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, these countries receive only five percent of global cancer resources.
Identifying and treating NCDs requires a dedicated global effort. It’s projected that in 2025, NCDs will cost poor countries USD $7-trillion in lost earnings of people who suffer from these diseases, keeping millions trapped in poverty.
Mental health challenges alone represent a devastating burden, with depression poised to become the leading cause of disability worldwide by 2030. Nine in 10 people globally receive no care for treatable mental health conditions.
Our Response
PIH provides our most extensive cancer care in Rwanda and Haiti. Built in 2012, the PIH-supported Butaro Cancer Centre of Excellence (BCCoE) provides high-quality cancer care to more than 1,500 patients a year from Rwanda and surrounding countries. BCCoE serves as a national cancer referral centre as we support the Ministry of Health’s efforts to develop cancer centres in other referral hospitals nationwide.
University Hospital of Mirebalais, in Haiti, provides direct and comprehensive cancer care to a catchment area of 1.2 million people. The hospital also provides training and guidance to clinicians across 11 other PIH-supported facilities in the country.
The PIH cross-site mental health program embeds mental health into the stream of primary NCD care and recognizes mental health as a fundamental piece of the care continuum. This vision is based on more than a decade of experience strengthening mental health care delivery across PIH countries of operation.
The program addresses the complexity and co-morbidity of mental disorders and seeks to integrate clinical and public health approaches. As such, PIH is uniquely positioned to impact global thinking on mental health care delivery within and outside of health systems.
PIH-Rwanda and Zipline partner on cancer care during COVID-19
In Rwanda, a partnership between PIH and Zipline used drones to deliver lifesaving cancer medication to oncology patients during the pandemic.
Patient care: a moral mission, in a medical context
Patients are not only PIH’s main source of inspiration; they are also our main source of information. We rely on their experiences to inform how we infuse health systems with the staff, stuff, space, and systems required to deliver high-quality care. Download the free resource to learn more about PIH’s patient-centred care.
