The Union Health Ministry is working towards raising India’s childhood cancer survival rate to 60 per cent by 2030, a senior official said on Sunday, underlining the Centre’s commitment to improving access and outcomes for young patients.

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Speaking at an event marking International Childhood Cancer Day, Deputy Director General of Health Services L. Swasticharan said the government had identified childhood cancer as a key priority area.

“We should not leave anybody behind. They should all survive and contribute to the Viksit Bharat 2047 that we are dreaming of,” he said.

While noting that there is no separate national policy dedicated exclusively to childhood cancer, Swasticharan said existing health frameworks provide adequate scope to support programmes ensuring access, financial protection and Universal Health Coverage for children battling cancer and their families. He also assured full government backing, including innovative funding models to strengthen care delivery.

The event, organised by CanKids KidsCan, highlighted significant gains in recent years. According to organisers, access to childhood cancer care has doubled from 27 per cent in 2019–20 to over 54 per cent in 2025. Nine state governments have signed Memorandums of Understanding to prioritise childhood cancer within their child health agendas.

Swasticharan commended these states and urged others to collaborate with stakeholders to ensure no child is left behind. He also called on advocacy groups to present focused solutions and robust data to help policymakers support improved diagnostics, treatment infrastructure and specialised training.

Aligning with national health priorities and the World Health Organization Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, stakeholders at the event set out a roadmap targeting 100 per cent access to care, full financial protection and a 60 per cent survival rate by the end of the decade.

Professor Sameer Bakshi from the Department of Medical Oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences stressed the importance of strengthening healthcare systems to improve survival outcomes.

“Capturing more and more children with childhood cancer is the easiest fruit to be captured when we look at raising the national survival rate from 50 per cent to 60 per cent by 2030,” he said. While acknowledging improvements in government support, including the role of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in addressing cancer care, he emphasised the need for greater coordination among stakeholders to overcome systemic fragmentation.

Poonam Bagai, Member of the Indian Council of Medical Research Central Ethics Committee on Human Research and WHO South-East Asia Region Representative for Childhood Cancer International, underscored the importance of policy integration and sustained dialogue. She said the newly formed Technical Expert Group on childhood cancer would help advance coordinated action.

“We want society to believe that cancer can be treated. Even if we are a low-income country, we have made significant achievements,” said Bagai, who is also Founder Chairman of CanKids KidsCan and Vice Chairman of Pallium India.

The programme also featured support from former IAS officer Karan Avtar Singh, CSR legislation advocate Nikhil Pant and banker Piyush Gupta.

At the event, Childhood Cancer Survivors Excellence Awards were presented to Doctor Tanveer Ahmed and Asian Youth medallist sports climber Shivani Charak, recognising their achievements and resilience.

With expanded state participation and growing institutional support, stakeholders expressed optimism that India could significantly improve survival outcomes for children with cancer over the next five years.