Sponsored session - Improving financing for cancer care: innovative approaches for low and middle-income countries

Session organised by Roche (Switzerland)

Chaired by Pablo Morales, Healthcare Funding & Financing Lead, Roche Global Access (Switzerland)

Presentations:

Keynote: Tamara Schudel, Roche (Switzerland)

Panel discussion with:

Tamara Schudel, Roche (Switzerland)

Olumide Okunola, World Bank / International Finance Corporation (Nigeria)

Andrea Feigl, Health Finance Institute (United States)

Mohit Misra, Mango Sciences (United States)

Description:

Limited funding for health care in low- and middle-income countries restricts access to cancer care, and gaps in public and insurance funding for cancer treatment are often filled by patients and their families through out-of-pocket costs. There is an urgent need for new innovative models to address these funding gaps.

Over the last 10 years, an expanding variety of innovative funding and financing schemes targeted at specific populations have emerged all over the world, but evidence on what they are, how they work and the impact they have is lacking. While cancer encompasses a set of chronic and complex diseases that challenge the limits of UHC, it is critical that cost-effective cancer interventions are progressively incorporated into UHC packages to ensure people who need care can access it without financial burden.

The current complex web of funding and service gaps cannot be resolved by any one party working alone and multi-sectoral partnerships are a necessity. Successful partnerships will require all stakeholders to take an active role in shaping the funding, design and delivery of proposed financing models and this session will bring together leaders in health financing for a candid conversation about the factors that enable successful and sustainable funding models.