Cancer remains a leading cause of morbidity and death world-wide. In sub-Saharan Africa, the annual death rate from cancer is projected to reach 1 million in 2030. The cancer incidence rate is also projected to exceed 1.4 million by 2030. Approximately half of the global childhood cancers are projected to occur in Africa by 2050.* In Ghana, the estimated number of new cancer cases is 24,000 each year in a population of 31 million, but only 3,500 patients are seen annually - that is roughly one in fifteen patients. The cancer death rate is approximately 15,800 patients per year.** The situation is further exacerbated due to inequity because more than 50% of cancer patients who do receive treatment cannot afford to complete treatment. Moreover, many underserved people with cancer, including low-income individuals, rural populations and those who are uninsured may not even seek diagnosis or treatment due to inability to pay. Thus ACCE has taken on a very ambitious cause to promote health by advancing equity in cancer care through

• funding the treatment, travel and related costs for patients with cancer who are without the financial means to receive adequate healthcare services, in Canada and Ghana

• providing medical equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients in non-profit community healthcare centers

• providing cancer patients and their families with access to mutual support groups and related counselling

• conducting research into the causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, control, and management of cancer and other diseases, in Canada and Ghana

* Cancer in sub-Saharan Africa: a Lancet Oncology Commission. The lancet oncology, 2022-05-09. Published online May 9, 2022 https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00720-8

** International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), World Health Organization (WHO). Ghana: https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/288-ghana-fact-sheets.pdf