Global Health Catalyst Summit @ Harvard Medical School​ 

Background on current cancer focus:

In response to a world in which cancer is a growing global health challenge, leaders in cancer policy from the USA and 14 economically diverse countries recently (Varmus et al.) concluded that successful campaigns to control cancers and improve current strategies will increasingly depend on concerted international collaborations. Highlighting urgency for such collaborations, the 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) Cancer Report describes the growing global burden of cancer as alarming, a major obstacle to human development and well-being, with a rising annual economic cost of ca. US$ 1.16 trillion. In particular, the report highlights major global cancer disparities, with over 60% of 14 million new cases and 70% of 8.2 million deaths per year occurring in low and middle income countries (LMIC), like those in Africa which, sadly, are the least capable of dealing with cancer without some form of collaboration. For example, radiotherapy, which is needed in the treatment of over 50% of cancer patients, is not available in 31 of Africa’s 54 LMIC. Hence being diagnosed with cancer in many African countries is viewed as a death sentence, and does often lead to a painful and distressful death given the weak healthcare systems. The WHO report also highlights the importance of cancer prevention to curb the emerging cancer epidemic in LMIC.

 

The objective of the Global Health Catalyst Cancer summit @ Harvard Medical School is, thus, to provide a forum for discussion, development, and adoption of tangible actions that can be taken as well as innovative approaches to catalyze high impact international collaborations in cancer Care Research and Education with LMIC in Radiation Oncology, Cancer prevention and Advocacy. Unique innovative focus of Global Health Catalyst Summits is ICTs and the Diaspora and unprecedented partnerships to eliminate cancer:

 

1. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Use of ICTs to catalyze mutually beneficial international collaborations in cancer care, research and education. There is growing consensus that ICTs have tremendous potential to catalyze global health collaborations.  Advanced ICTs can be employed to convert a major recent upsurge in Global Health interest into greater space-time flexible concerted action against cancer, and for supporting/enhancing greater effectiveness of existing global health initiatives.  Studies show that in most resource-poor areas today, people have a mobile phone (ICT-device) but no toilets. These phones can be leveraged in healthcare to save lives, improve healthcare, catalyze collaborations.

2.  Africans in Diaspora (AiD) united against cancer: turning brain drain to gain. The African Diaspora is one the most educated diaspora groups in North America, and constitutes a major resource for supporting development efforts in their sending continent. For example, Africans in Diaspora (AID) remit over $50 billion per year to Africa, which is more than yearly global aid to the continent. Community outreach involvement of the highly skilled/educated/resource-laden AiD would, arguably, spawn and catalyze stronger collaborations and help turn the devastating African brain drain to gains against cancer. The Diaspora’s passion for contributing to their sending countries, substantial material/human resource potential, status/respect in sending communities, and better appreciation of both Developed and sending LMIC country cultures could be a significant asset in the fight against cancer. A recent survey of USA African Diaspora group leaders shows overwhelming interest (ca. 90% strong) to be a partner in the fight against cancer with suggestions on ways to catalyze such support for their sending continent. The Harvard Global Health Catalyst summit brings together hundreds of AiD group/organization leaders, advocates, global health cancer leaders to discuss ideas and strategies on how they can be a sustainable partner and catalyst for high impact concerted action to address the emerging cancer epidemic in Africa. Working together united against cancer, this would constitute a powerful and unprecedented grassroots  movement  in the global fight against cancer: in advocacy, education/awareness for cancer prevention, crowdsourcing, crowdfunding, etc to save lives, curb the emerging African cancer epidemic with vision to ultimately eliminate cancer disparities. The AiD program is a leading-edge initiative with continuing support by the African Renaissance Ambassador Corp, USA.

3. Unprecedented partnerships: The Harvard Global Health Catalyst program is constantly at the leading edge of growing win-win partnerships with industry in global health/development, and unprecedented outreach to minority communities in the USA, faith-based organizations and sports leaders to tackle and win the fight against cancer, eliminate disparities, TOGETHER

 

          In the past years, the summit has catalyzed collaborations to establish or support cancer centers and healthcare institutions in different African countries, supported education and training efforts to build human capacity needed to strengthen the healthcare systems, and established fecund research collaborations, along with disease prevention and advocacy programs. Overall, participants at the Harvard summit come from all across the USA, Europe, Africa, and other low and middle-income countries interested in advancing disease prevention and control. Participants also include leaders from the International Health Agencies like the World Health Organization, policy makers, hundreds of African Diaspora organization leaders and industry. 

 

​

Expected outcomes of the 2017 summit: ​

• Development of new win-win partnerships with MOUs to strengthen LMIC healthcare systems in radiation oncology and other oncology areas  

• Launch of  the Virtual Harambee platform for telemedicine by African in Diaspora (AiD) cancer health professional, online learning, and crowdfunded research

• Multicenter-clinical trials roadmap with African institutions  powered by the National Cancer Institute-funded QARC

• Research co-mentoring program  involving faculty from Low and Middle Income Countries and faculty from the USA and Europe

• First global radiation oncology live lectures and online course

• ICT-powered global cancer nanomedicine and low-cost technology plan

•  Knowledge sharing  with new publications including summit proceedings

• New awards 

• Unprecedented partnerships and outreach to minority communities, faith-based organizations, and sports

• Consolidation of the growing alliance in the global war against cancer, with outreach support from society, foundations, funding agencies, policy makers, industry, and Diaspora organizations, toward improved health outcomes, saved lives, and the elimination of global cancer disparities.