Closing the world's cancer care gap demands partnership, not just technology

Science alone cannot save lives without the partnerships and investment needed to put it into practice.  That was the message delivered by OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa as he joined global health leaders in Vienna this week to open the IAEA Scientific Forum 2026 – and announced that a new cancer care project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be the first in a series targeting low-, and middle-income countries.,

Held on September 15-16 at the Vienna International Centre alongside the IAEA's 70th General Conference, this year's Forum carried the theme "Rays of Hope: Delivering on the Promise of Cancer Care". Delivering the opening remarks alongside IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, President Alkhalifa thanked the Agency for the invitation and reaffirmed the OPEC Fund's strong support for its work using science and technology to improve lives.

The numbers set out by President Alkhalifa are sobering. Cancer claimed nearly 10 million lives in 2024 alone, with around 70% of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The gap is widest in radiotherapy: an estimated 90% of cancer patients in low-income countries cannot access this treatment when they need it, simply because the facilities and expertise do not exist.

"Without the necessary facilities and expertise, this life-saving treatment cannot be delivered," President Alkhalifa told delegates, describing the IAEA's flagship Rays of Hope initiative, launched by Director General Grossi in 2022, as central to closing that gap. "The OPEC Fund is proud to be part of this effort," he said.

 In June, the OPEC Fund approved its first project with the IAEA under the Rays of Hope framework. The project, in the DRC, is also the first operation to be delivered under the recent Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations.

It follows a joint mission to Kinshasa, where medical, technical and financial experts assessed the country's needs. The DRC records around 52,000 new cancer cases every year yet has only a single private radiotherapy facility to serve the entire population.

To help change that, the OPEC Fund is combining a US$69 million sovereign loan with a US$975,000 technical assistance grant to support the establishment of the country's first public radiotherapy center.

"The project is therefore about much more than infrastructure," President Alkhalifa said. "It is about saving lives and giving people access to care that they currently do not have."

For President Alkhalifa, closing the cancer care gap is a question of partnership as much as science.

"Science can provide the tools, but partnerships and investment help bring those tools to the people who need them," he said, pointing to the political leadership, international cooperation and long-term investment in health systems required to turn ambition into working cancer centers and trained clinical staff.

This is not the OPEC Fund's first engagement in cancer care. The organization has already supported efforts in Malawi, Uganda and Zambia. Building on that experience, and on the promise of its cooperation with the IAEA, President Alkhalifa announced that the DRC program will be the first in a series of projects targeting cancer care across low- and middle-income countries.

President Alkhalifa closed his remarks by returning to what the project is ultimately about: not financing structures or facility specifications, but people.

"It is about giving patients and their families hope," he said. "It is about making life-saving cancer care a reality for people who today may have nowhere to turn."

The two-day IAEA Scientific Forum brings together ministers, scientists, clinicians and financing partners to discuss how to build on the momentum of the Rays of Hope initiative and expand equitable access to cancer care worldwide.