Global Cancer Financing Platform — Financing the shift to early diagnosis

The imbalance

The financing gap.

Share of global deaths caused by NCDs~75%

Share of global health financing NCDs receive1–2%

Most cancer deaths now happen in low- and middle-income countries, and the financing hasn't followed. Development assistance for health fell 21% in a single year, from $49.6 billion in 2024 to $39.1 billion in 2025, and is projected to keep falling. Cancer cannot win by competing for a bigger share of a shrinking pool. The opportunity is the capital already moving through these economies that has never been part of the cancer conversation.

1 in 6

of all deaths worldwide is from cancer

80%+

of cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries

91%

five-year cervical cancer survival when diagnosed early

19%

survival when the same cancer is found late

The architecture

Six principles.

Stage shifting

Catch cancer earlier — when treatment is effective, less costly, and far more likely to save lives. We begin with breast and cervical cancer, where the survival gap between early and late diagnosis is widest.

Build on what exists

We are not creating another parallel initiative. Partners have spent decades building the pieces stage shifting requires. Our role is to connect that infrastructure, finance it, and make it investable.

Unlock new capital

Reach capital that has never been part of the cancer conversation — beginning with the $685 billion the global diaspora sends home each year.

Verification-first financing

Money moves only when results are independently verified. Trust is engineered into the architecture — never assumed.

Country-led ownership

This model cannot be designed around a country. It must be designed with one. Government buy-in is not a courtesy — it is a condition of success.

A partnership platform

A bond cannot biopsy a breast lump. What shifts stage is capital integrated with clinical pathways, workforce, diagnostics, and the institutions that deliver care.

New capital

The diaspora.

$685B

Sent home by the global diaspora in 2024 — larger than foreign direct investment and development assistance combined.

$100B+

flows to sub-Saharan Africa each year

1,918 years

to exhaust one year of global remittances at $1 million spent every day

+57%

remittance growth over the past decade, while FDI fell 41%

Remittances are the largest and most resilient external financial flow to the countries we serve, and they have been almost entirely absent from the cancer financing conversation. Until now. Money sent privately to families stays private. We organize collective diaspora capital, pooled toward cancer care as a public good, through three pathways.

Pathway 01

Collective remittances

Diaspora groups pool voluntary contributions toward cancer care as a public good — matched by government and partners, on the model of Mexico's 3×1 Program for Migrants.

1% of Uganda's remittances$14–15M/yr

With 1:1 match$30M/yr

With 2–3:1 match$40–60M/yr

Pathway 02

Care vouchers

A diaspora member purchases a defined step in a loved one's cancer journey — screening, diagnosis, treatment — verified on delivery. Proven in Kenya through M-TIBA.

One voucher$100

With 1:1 match$200

With 3:1 match$400

Pathway 03

Diaspora bonds

The diaspora as investors, not donors. Cancer-infrastructure bonds fund pathology, imaging, regional diagnostic hubs, and radiotherapy. African diaspora bonds have already raised hundreds of millions.

Recurring annual flow$14–15M

Infrastructure facility~$100M

With matching~$200M+

How money moves

Verification-first financing.

Money moves only when results are independently verified. Cancer care is financed the way a nation finances its infrastructure.

Service delivered

A cancer service is delivered against a costed KPI drawn from the national cancer plan.

Independently verified

Delivery is confirmed through data and technology. Results are never assumed.

Payment released

Funds are released only on proven delivery — through ring-fenced accounts under government oversight.

The model rewards outcomes, not inputs — moving cancer care from one-off interventions to a national system: built, financed, maintained, and governed over time.

First proof

The Uganda pilot.

Our first pilot is underway, co-developed with the Global Health Catalyst, the Uganda Cancer Institute, and the Government of Uganda. It tests the full model, from diaspora capital coming in to verified care going out, beginning with women's cancers. Ugandans abroad already send home roughly $1.5 billion each year, about 3% of GDP.

Uganda Cancer InstituteMinistry of HealthMinistry of FinanceThe TreasuryBank of UgandaEmbassy of Uganda, Washington DC

Pilot KPIs — finalized, costed, and drawn from Uganda's National Cancer Control Plan 2025–2030

EARLY-CERV-SCR

Early cervical screening completed

BRST-SCR

Breast screening completed

ONCO-NRS-TRNG

Oncology nurse training completed

September 2025

Launched at UNGA

Formal launch on the margins of the UN General Assembly, hosted with Bloomberg New Economy and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, with seven founding country signatories.

December 2025

Kampala scoping workshop

In-person pilot design with the Uganda Cancer Institute, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Finance.

January 2026

Working session in Washington, DC

Hosted by H.E. Robie Kakonge, Ambassador of Uganda, at the Ambassador's residence.

Today

In progress now

The Uganda SPV and financial-control architecture, the digital platform, and end-to-end transaction testing, alongside engagement with more than 100 diaspora organizations and philanthropies.

July 2026

APAC Women's Cancers Coalition High-Level Policy Summit

Co-hosted by the Global Cancer Financing Platform, the Women's Cancers Coalition, Taiwan's Ministry of Health and Welfare, the ROSE Foundation, and the Formosa Cancer Foundation.

September 2026

Global Health Catalyst Summit — Harvard/MIT

A convening at Harvard and MIT to present pilot progress and bring new partners into the work ahead of launch.

October 2026

Uganda pilot launch

The pilot goes live: diaspora funding flows to the finalized KPIs for cervical screening, breast screening, and oncology nurse training, with every payment released on independently verified delivery.

March 25–26, 2027

Convening at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute

Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The launch of the Global Cancer Financing Platform at Bloomberg New Economy during UNGA, September 2025 — September 2025 · New York
The launch on the margins of UNGA, hosted with Bloomberg New Economy and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Pilot scoping workshop participants in Kampala with the Uganda Cancer Institute and government ministries, December 2025 — December 2025 · Kampala
Pilot scoping workshop with the Uganda Cancer Institute, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Finance.

Working session hosted by the Ambassador of Uganda at the Ambassador's residence in Washington DC, January 2026 — January 2026 · Washington, DC
Working session hosted by H.E. Robie Kakonge, Ambassador of Uganda, at the Ambassador's residence.

Uganda pilot

Partner commitments.

American Cancer Society

Workforce education, stigma reduction, civil-society engagement, and patient navigation — lifting screening demand and strengthening follow-up after abnormal findings.

American Society for Clinical Pathology

Breast-pathology and cancer-diagnostics education for pathologists and laboratory professionals, including no-cost laboratory-skills training.

American Society of Clinical Oncology

Uganda Cancer Institute participation in its evidence-based quality registry, plus technical convening for multidisciplinary workforce training.

ATOM Coalition

Technical expertise, convening power, and implementation support through a 46-partner network and its MOU with the Government of Uganda.

City Cancer Challenge (C/Can)

Coordinated, locally led cancer-system strengthening in Kampala, aligned with Uganda's national cancer priorities.

Global Health Catalyst

Leading pilot design, coordination, and execution with the Uganda Cancer Institute — operational model, KPI framework, verification architecture, and roadmap.

Penn Medicine Radiation Oncology

Strengthening medical-physics workforce capacity through the NIH-supported AMPERE program — immersive fellowships and year-round mentorship.