International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is a global collaborative campaign, observed annually on 15 February across the globe to raise awareness about childhood cancer, highlighting its distinct challenges, and to show solidarity with children and adolescents fighting cancer, as well as with survivors and their families.
Campaign:
i.The 3-year campaign of ICCD (2024-2026) aims to address the challenges faced by childhood cancer patients, caregivers, survivors and health care professionals worldwide.
ii.The campaign theme of ICCD 2025 is “Inspiring Action”.
- The campaign theme of ICCD 2026 is “Demonstrating Impact” and the campaign theme of ICCD 2024 is “Unveiling Challenges”.
Background:
i.ICCD is an annual event established in 2002 by Childhood Cancer International (CCI), a global umbrella organization for national and grassroots childhood cancer parent groups.
- The first-ever ICCD was observed on February 15, 2002.
ii.The ICCD campaign is a collaborative initiative between CCI and the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) or Société Internationale d’oncologie Pédiatrique (SIOP).
Note: The International SIOP was founded on November 6, 1969, by a group of specialists at the Institut Gustave-Roussy in Paris, France with a mission to advance childhood cancer research and treatment.
Symbol:
i.The gold ribbon serves as the universal symbol for childhood cancer awareness, representing all forms of cancer affecting children and adolescents.
ii.Gold was chosen for this symbol because it reflects the preciousness of children, highlighting their value and the importance of supporting them through their cancer journey.
What is Cancer:
i.Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth which occurs in any organ of the body and spread of abnormal cells through the blood and lymphatic systems.
ii.Common types include lung, breast, prostate, colorectal, and skin cancer, with lung cancer being the deadliest worldwide due to its high mortality rate.
Global Challenge:
i.According to the CCI, more than 400,000 children and adolescents under 20 are diagnosed with cancer globally each year.
ii.Survival rates vary significantly by region, with an 80% survival rate in most High-Income Countries(HICs), while in Low and Middle-Income Countries(LMICs), the rate is as low as 20%.
iii.In the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), over 70% of children diagnosed with cancer in 2022 succumbed to the disease.
iv.Globally, approximately 275,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually in children aged 0–19 years.
v.The most prevalent types include leukaemias, lymphomas, and central nervous system tumours, with incidence rates peaking at ages 0–4 and 15–19.
WHO Initiative:
i.The WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer(GICC), launched in 2018, aims to eliminate pain and suffering for children battling cancer and to achieve at least a 60% survival rate for all children diagnosed worldwide by 2030.
ii.Currently, about 80% of children with cancer in HICs are successfully treated and survive.
National Challenge:
i.The Indian Cancer Society (ICS), India’s first voluntary organization dedicated to supporting children with cancer, reports that over 50,000 new cases of childhood cancer are diagnosed annually in India.
ii.While survival rates in Western countries reach 80-90% for certain cancers, even a conservative estimate of 70% survival in India indicates that many childhood cancer survivors are added to the population each year.
2025 Events:
On February 15, 2025, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) commemorated ICCD by releasing a series of videos highlighting the “Targeting Childhood Cancer through the Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (ChildGICR)” project and the ChildGICR Masterclass in Lyon, France.
About Childhood Cancer International (CCI):
CCI is a global network of 183 organizations, including parent groups, childhood cancer survivor associations, support groups, and cancer societies, spanning 94 countries across 5 continents.
President– João de Bragança
Headquarters– Amsterdam, Netherlands
Established– 1994
