Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced a $7.5 million support package for sampling kits, detection kits and vaccines to assist nations in combating cervical cancer. This announcement was made during the Quad Cancer Moonshot event, hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware.
“India is ready to share its experience and expertise. Today, many experts from India working in cancer care have joined us at this event. Our vision is One Earth, One Health. I announce the support of sampling kits, detection kits, and vaccines worth USD 7.5 million,” Prime Minister Modi said.
PM Modi highlighted India’s initiatives to fight cervical cancer, stressing the importance of an “integrated approach to prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment” to reduce the cancer burden.
The Prime Minister also announced that India will cooperate in radiotherapy treatment and capacity building, contributing 40 million vaccine doses for Indo-Pacific countries under GAVI and Quad initiatives.
“These 40 million vaccine doses will bring hope to millions of people. When the Quad acts, it is not just for nations; this is the true essence of our human-centric approach,” PM Modi said.
The Cancer Moonshot is a White House initiative aimed at revitalizing leadership in the fight against cancer, facilitating new collaborations, and advancing progress across the cancer journey by engaging federal agencies, private companies, healthcare providers, patient groups, philanthropies, and the American public.
“I want to thank President Biden for organizing this event, which reflects our shared determination to provide affordable, accessible, and quality healthcare. During the COVID pandemic, we initiated the Quad Vaccine initiative for the Indo-Pacific, and I am glad that we have decided to jointly tackle challenges like cervical cancer within the Quad. In cancer care, collaboration is essential for a cure,” PM Modi said.
“An integrated approach to prevention, screening, diagnosis, and treatment is necessary to reduce the burden of cancer. In India, a very cost-effective cervical cancer screening program is being implemented,” he added.
The Prime Minister underlined that India has developed its own vaccine for cervical cancer and is introducing new treatment protocols with the help of AI. He emphasized that the country is running the world’s largest health insurance scheme and has established special centers to make medicines available at affordable costs.
The Cancer Moonshot has inspired significant action across the U.S. government and from both public and private sectors, laying a strong foundation for future work. To date, the initiative has launched more than 95 new programs, policies, and resources to address five priority actions. A total of 170 private companies, non-profits, academic institutions, and patient groups have also joined in with new actions and collaborations.
The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi facilitated the first-ever U.S.-India Cancer Moonshot Dialogue on August 5-6 at the National Institute of Immunology, hosted by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The dialogue focused on strengthening U.S.-India biomedical research cooperation and jointly developing solutions to improve global health and well-being.