Moving beyond the tracer conditions: positioning childhood cancer within the scale-up of PEN-Plus in Africa
13 affiliations
- 1Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology
- 2School of Public Health, University of Zambia
- 3NCD Alliance
- 4St. Jude Children’s Hospital
- 5Ministry of Health
- 6Muhimbili National Hospital
- 7NCDi Poverty Network
- 8Universidade Eduardo Mondlane
- 9UNICEF
- 10Uganda Heart Institute
- 11Research Centre for Adolescent and Child Health (REACH), University of Cape Town
- 12Partners in Health
- 13Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
Abstract
The 3rd International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa (ICPPA) reaffirmed PEN-Plus’s potential to decentralise care for severe, complex non-communicable diseases and injuries among underserved populations, particularly children and adolescents. Although childhood cancer was recognised as a sentinel condition in the original Lancet Commission report, it has not yet been fully embraced within PEN-Plus implementation. This gap is striking given that nearly 90% of the over 100–000 children who develop cancer annually in sub-Saharan Africa die, largely as a result of underdiagnosis and late-stage presentation. First-level referral hospitals could therefore help bridge primary and tertiary care, improving timely diagnosis, early treatment, and adherence. Accordingly, the next phase of PEN-Plus should be defined not only by expanding coverage to improve access to care, but also by strengthening equitable, child-centred, and integrated service delivery within national primary health care systems and communities – including extending comprehensive services to other orphaned conditions such as childhood cancer.
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BibTeX
@article{heine2026moving,
title = {{Moving beyond the tracer conditions: positioning childhood cancer within the scale-up of PEN-Plus in Africa}},
author = {Martin Heine and Choolwe Jacobs and Larissa Klootwijk and Harrison Andeko and Ombeni Idassi and Paul Kamfwa and Edna Majaliwa and Ana O. Mocumbi and Bavin Mulenga and Annie C. Mwila and Judith Namuyonga and Laylah Ryklief and John Ssentamu and Isaac Ssinabulya and Fastone Goma},
journal = {Frontiers in Oncology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fonc.2026.2006160},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2026.2006160/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Moving beyond the tracer conditions: positioning childhood cancer within the scale-up of PEN-Plus in Africa
AU - Martin Heine
AU - Choolwe Jacobs
AU - Larissa Klootwijk
AU - Harrison Andeko
AU - Ombeni Idassi
AU - Paul Kamfwa
AU - Edna Majaliwa
AU - Ana O. Mocumbi
AU - Bavin Mulenga
AU - Annie C. Mwila
AU - Judith Namuyonga
AU - Laylah Ryklief
AU - John Ssentamu
AU - Isaac Ssinabulya
AU - Fastone Goma
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Frontiers in Oncology
DO - 10.3389/fonc.2026.2006160
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fonc.2026.2006160/full
AB - The 3rd International Conference on PEN-Plus in Africa (ICPPA) reaffirmed PEN-Plus’s potential to decentralise care for severe, complex non-communicable diseases and injuries among underserved populations, particularly children and adolescents. Although childhood cancer was recognised as a sentinel condition in the original Lancet Commission report, it has not yet been fully embraced within PEN-Plus implementation. This gap is striking given that nearly 90% of the over 100–000 children who develop cancer annually in sub-Saharan Africa die, largely as a result of underdiagnosis and late-stage presentation. First-level referral hospitals could therefore help bridge primary and tertiary care, improving timely diagnosis, early treatment, and adherence. Accordingly, the next phase of PEN-Plus should be defined not only by expanding coverage to improve access to care, but also by strengthening equitable, child-centred, and integrated service delivery within national primary health care systems and communities – including extending comprehensive services to other orphaned conditions such as childhood cancer.
SN - 2234-943X
ER -