October 7, 2025

New index aims to help countries close breast cancer care gaps | Devex | Interview

October 7, 2025

New index aims to help countries close breast cancer care gaps | Devex | Interview

Foreword by H.E. Toyin Saraki 

As we mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month under the World Health Organization’s theme Every Story is Unique, Every Journey Matters, I am honoured to spotlight the newly released Devex feature, “New Index Aims to Help Countries Close Breast Cancer Care Gaps,” following my conversation with Senior Editor Rumbi Chakamba during the 80th United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week.

The feature introduces the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index, a data-driven framework that enables governments to turn commitment into measurable reform. Convened by AstraZeneca with clinicians, policymakers, and advocates, the Index provides a unified set of indicators spanning early detection, timely diagnosis, comprehensive management, and resilient system performance. It offers a shared language for accountability, aligning policy, financing, and delivery to expose inequities and guide investment.

True equity in women’s cancer care requires coherence between evidence, leadership, and implementation. The BCCQI represents that alignment, where political will meets operational capacity, and progress is demonstrated through measurable standards of care.

Through the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, we are advancing this approach in Nigeria by embedding breast health education, patient navigation, and system strengthening into maternal and community health programmes, aligned with the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative and the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index. Our mission remains clear, that every woman’s journey leads to timely care, effective treatment, and survival.
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At UNGA, global health leaders unveiled the Breast Cancer Care Quality Index or BCCQI — a new data-driven framework to help governments translate global goals into national action.

By Rumbi Chakamba // 07 October 2025 // Originally published on Devex.com

A new tool may give governments a practical way to move from lofty global targets to on-the-ground action in the fight against breast cancer.

Breast cancer has become the most common cancer worldwide, with around 2.3 million new cases and more than 666,000 deaths recorded in 2022, yet only a few countries are on track to meet the World Health Organization’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative goal of reducing mortality by 2.5% annually.

“Across every region, women face systemic inequities that delay their diagnosis, limit their access to innovation, and compromise the quality of our care. These disparities are not incidental. They’re structural, and they reverberate through our families, our communities, and our economies,” Toyin Saraki, founder and president of The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, said at the Concordia summit held on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly.

In response to these inequities, a new initiative — The Breast Cancer Care Quality Index or BCCQI — aims to help countries translate global goals into national action plans. The tool allows governments to assess their policies, pinpoint weak spots, and map out tailored road maps for improvement. It is designed to support efforts to meet WHO’s mortality-reduction targets.

A radiographer prepares a patient to undergo a mammogram to look for early signs of breast cancer at a hospital in Nairobi, Kenya. Photo by: Njeri Mwangi / Reuters

“When you have something that’s the biggest killer, you have to use that to bring not just awareness, [but] action and investment to the problem,” Saraki told Devex.

Developed by an international team of clinicians, policymakers, and advocates, with AstraZeneca serving as a convener, the BCCQI draws on evidence reviews and extensive expert consultations to define four key dimensions — early detection, timely diagnosis, comprehensive management, and resilient health systems. These are further broken down into 10 targets and 23 measurable indicators.

Saraki — who is also a member of the AstraZeneca Breast Cancer Care Council — said she was drawn to the index because it provides an opportunity to turn expert data into practical information that governments, policymakers, health practitioners, and even women themselves can easily understand and use. The goal is to help medical professionals and clinics establish clear patient-navigation pathways, ensure access to the latest treatments, and measure progress along the way.

Saraki hopes early adopters will use the index to benchmark national data, identify gaps such as late-stage diagnoses or weak referral systems, and develop plans to strengthen cancer programs. The index developers are also working toward a multilateral U.N. resolution that will bring visibility to the index.

But challenges remain. Many low- and middle-income countries still lack robust cancer registries and trained staff to collect and analyze data — critical prerequisites for using the index effectively. Sustained political will and dedicated funding will also be essential to translate the framework into improved survival rates

“When you have the political will, everything else will work. You will have the resources in place, you will have the commitment in the different levels of the bureaucracy and the different programs, but political will is key,” said former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla at the Concordia event.

“Without leadership and sustained commitment, even the best of frameworks cannot deliver the change that women deserve,” Saraki added.

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About the author

Rumbi Chakamba is a Senior Editor at Devex based in Botswana, who has worked with regional and international publications including News Deeply, The Zambezian, Outriders Network, and Global Sisters Report. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of South Africa.

 

 

 

 

 

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