The Quad countries - Australia, the U.S., India, Japan - have launched a Quad Cancer Moonshot Initiative to alleviate the burden of cancer in the Indo-Pacific region, first targeting cervical cancer. Each country’s government, non-profit, and private sectors have made various commitments to strengthening health infrastructure, increasing research partnerships, developing data systems, and enhancing services for cancer prevention and treatment. Statistics demonstrate the health disparities in low and middle-income countries in the Indo-Pacific region: less than 10% of women in the Indo-Pacific have finished their human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination series, and fewer than one in 10 have had a recent screening. Additionally, although cervical cancer is usually preventable and treatable it is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the Indo-Pacific region. The Cancer Moonshot Initiative aims to address these gaps by promoting HPV vaccination, strengthening the healthcare workforce, and increasing access to screening and treatment services in underserved areas.
Financially, the U.S. pledged $1.58 billion over five years for HPV vaccines in the region. Various collaborative projects under the initiative will be conducted by government organizations such as the Department of Defense of the U.S. Navy, the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and others. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), nonprofits, and companies partaking in the initiative include the World Bank, Women investors and philanthropists of the Women Health and Economic Empowerment Network (WHEN), The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Jhpiego, and Illumina, among other organizations from Quad members. Experts project that this initiative can save hundreds of thousands of lives in the decades ahead. The Southeast Asian countries that are receiving particular attention are Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
