World Cancer Day 2025
This year’s World Cancer Day theme, #UnitedbyUnique, highlights the importance of people-centered cancer care. At ARCH Collaborative, we believe that everyone, no matter where they're from, should get the support they need when faced with a life-changing diagnosis. Community Health Volunteer programs are one strategy that has been applied to support people facing chronic diseases in low-resource settings. This World Cancer Day, we share research from our founders on #supportiveoncology in refugee camps, where access to treatment and support can be extremely challenging.
The Scale of Displacement & Cancer Burden
The number of people forcibly displaced around the world has doubled over the past decade, surpassing 100 million people in 2022. Of these, 84% of refugees in 2022 were fleeing from highly #climate vulnerable countries.
Many of these people are living with chronic diseases like cancer, and facing much lower survival rates. To get a sense of the global burden, note that 7 in 10 cancer deaths around the world were in low- and middle-income countries in 2020. For refugees, access to cancer treatment and support can be limited, and innovative solutions are needed.
The Opportunity of Community Health Programs
One solution? Community Health Volunteers—trusted members of refugee communities—have been shown to improve outcomes in other chronic diseases such as diabetes.
In refugee camps in Jordan, CHVs have already helped people living with chronic diseases by:
✅ Checking in by phone to track medication use
✅ Providing health education to prevent complications
✅ Reducing barriers to care like transportation and costs
These programs could be expanded to meet the needs of cancer patients in low-resource settings, offering:
💊 Symptom management (pain, fatigue, nutrition)
❤️ Emotional support during treatment
🩺 Early detection of complications
People-Centered Cancer Care, for All
By training CHVs in supportive oncology, we can help ensure that people living with cancer get the care they need—even in the most challenging circumstances.
Every person’s cancer journey is different, and solutions must be tailored to their needs. Let’s unite to expand access to cancer care—everywhere.
Read the full abstract, presented at #WorldCancerCongress2024 below.
Priorizando a las Personas: Programas de Salud Comunitaria para Mejorar la Atención Oncológica de Apoyo en Campamentos de Refugiados
El Dia Mundial contra el Cáncer 2025
El tema del Día Mundial contra el Cáncer de este año, #UnitedbyUnique, destaca la importancia de una atención oncológica centrada en las personas. En ARCH Collaborative, creemos que todas las personas, sin importar de dónde provengan, deben recibir el apoyo necesario cuando enfrentan un diagnóstico que cambia sus vidas. Los programas de Voluntarios Comunitarios de Salud (CHVs, por sus siglas en inglés) son una estrategia que se ha implementado para apoyar a personas con enfermedades crónicas en entornos con recursos limitados. En este Día Mundial contra el Cáncer, compartimos investigaciones de nuestros fundadores sobre oncología de apoyo en campamentos de refugiados, donde el acceso al tratamiento y al apoyo puede ser extremadamente difícil.
La magnitud del desplazamiento y la carga del cáncer
El número de personas desplazadas por la fuerza en el mundo se ha duplicado en la última década, superando los 100 millones en 2022. De ellas, el 84% de los refugiados en 2022 huían de países altamente vulnerables al #cambioclimático.
Muchas de estas personas viven con enfermedades crónicas como el cáncer y enfrentan tasas de supervivencia mucho más bajas. Para dimensionar la carga global, consideremos que 7 de cada 10 muertes por cáncer en 2020 ocurrieron en países de ingresos bajos y medianos. Para los refugiados, el acceso al tratamiento y al apoyo oncológico puede ser limitado, por lo que se necesitan soluciones innovadoras.
La oportunidad de los programas de salud comunitaria
¿Una posible solución? Los Voluntarios Comunitarios de Salud (CHVs), miembros de confianza dentro de las comunidades de refugiados, han demostrado mejorar los resultados en otras enfermedades crónicas como la diabetes.
En campamentos de refugiados en Jordania, los CHVs han apoyado a personas con enfermedades crónicas a través de:
✅ Seguimiento telefónico para controlar el uso de medicamentos
✅ Educación en salud para prevenir complicaciones
✅ Reducción de barreras de acceso a la atención, como transporte y costos
Estos programas podrían expandirse para abordar las necesidades de los pacientes con cáncer en entornos de bajos recursos, ofreciendo:
💊 Manejo de síntomas (dolor, fatiga, nutrición)
❤️ Apoyo emocional durante el tratamiento
🩺 Detección temprana de complicaciones
Atención oncológica centrada en las personas, para todos
Al capacitar a los CHVs en oncología de apoyo, podemos garantizar que las personas con cáncer reciban la atención que necesitan, incluso en las circunstancias más difíciles.
Cada persona vive su proceso oncológico de manera diferente, por lo que las soluciones deben adaptarse a sus necesidades. Unámonos para ampliar el acceso a la atención del cáncer en todas partes.
Lee el resumen completo, presentado en el #WorldCancerCongress2024, a continuación.
![Title: The Impact and Opportunity of Community Health Programs to Meet Supportive Oncology Needs in Refugee Camps
Authors: Justine Po,1 Arthur Bookstein,1 Woori Lee2
1Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
2Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C., USA
Background and context: As cancer rates have risen in low-resource settings, the global refugee crisis has more than doubled over the past decade, surpassing 100 million people displaced in 2022[1]. However, significant gaps persist in supporting the complex psychosocial and medical needs of people living with cancer in refugee camps. To address the compounded challenges of displacement and cancer, community health programs offer an evidence-based solution in refugee camps.
Aim: Summarize the impact of community health volunteers (CHVs) in refugee camps and opportunity for CHVs to meet supportive oncology needs in this setting.
Strategy/tactics: To improve care for Syrian refugees in Jordan, CHVs were used to connect patients with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to treatment and conduct monthly telephone visits to assess medication adherence and NCD complications[2,3]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these telehealth CHV visits minimized infectious exposures and decreased transportation burden while maintaining health monitoring[4]. Second, CHVs provided refugees with a trusted connection to surveillance systems, risk communication, and the epidemic response. CHV programs present an opportunity for supportive oncology in refugee camps through close management of cachexia and cancer-related distress exacerbated by displacement[4]. Additionally, CHVs could provide support for cancer-related fatigue and pain while detecting early signs of progression[5].
Programme/policy:
CHV training could be adapted to the cancer context, leveraging strengths of existing CHV programs in addressing psychological distress, malnutrition, and early detection of NCD complications.
Process:
Training would be integrated into existing CHV onboarding, with ongoing monitoring and evaluation of patient-reported health and wellbeing metrics. Finally, program evidence will be used to establish a framework for CHV-based supportive oncology services in refugee camps.
Outcomes: CHVs were found to improve secondary prevention of NCDs among refugees (p<0.0001)[2]. CHVs were also shown to increase COVID-19 detection rates during crises[4]. Further, surveys and stakeholder interviews with refugees highlighted a strong desire to integrate palliative care and symptom relief strategies into care[5,6]. The impact of CHVs was driven by enhanced psychosocial support and health literacy, proactive health monitoring, early recognition of complications, and improved treatment adherence[2].
What was learned: CHVs improve health outcomes and reduce treatment burden among refugees with NCDs. This effect is mediated by close monitoring, health education, psychosocial support, and improved linkage to services. Importantly, it is grounded in trusting patient relationships. CHV programs offer a low-cost, evidence-based approach to address unmet need for supportive oncology services among refugees.
UNHCR. 100 million people forcibly displaced. UNHCR Refugee Statistics. Published 2022. https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/insights/explainers/100-million-forcibly-displaced.html
Parmar PK, Rawashdah F, Al-Ali N, et al. Integrating community health volunteers into non-communicable disease management among Syrian refugees in Jordan: a causal loop analysis. BMJ Open. 2021;11(4):e045455. Published 2021 Apr 20. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045455
Fawad M, Rawashdeh F, Parmar PK, Ratnayake R. Simple ideas to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic on refugees with chronic diseases. Confl Health. 2020;14:23. Published 2020 May 6. doi:10.1186/s13031-020-00277-x
Ratnayake R, Rawashdeh F, AbuAlRub R, et al. Rapidly adapted community health strategies to prevent treatment interruption and improve COVID-19 detection for Syrian refugees and the host population with hypertension and diabetes in Jordan. Int Health. 2023;15(6):664-675. doi:10.1093/inthealth/ihac083
Pinheiro I, Jaff D. The role of palliative care in addressing the health needs of Syrian refugees in Jordan. Med Confl Surviv. Published online February 27, 2018. doi:10.1080/13623699.2018.1437966
Doherty M, Power L, Petrova M, et al. Illness-related suffering and need for palliative care in Rohingya refugees and caregivers in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional study. PLoS Med. 2020;17(3):e1003011. Published 2020 Mar 3. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003011](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bbb7ba_de6f0289fd9140479d79f2779cb1584a~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_551,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/bbb7ba_de6f0289fd9140479d79f2779cb1584a~mv2.png)
Cite as: Po, J., Bookstein, A., Lee, W. The Impact and Opportunity of Community Health Programs to Meet Supportive Oncology Needs in Refugee Camps. In: Proceedings from the World Cancer Congress 2024; September 17, 2024; Geneva, Switzerland.
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