Pediatric cancers and blood disorders
The BMS Foundation is committed to being a leader in the wider pediatric community, working with programs in pediatric cancers and sickle cell disease in Sub-Saharan Africa, and beta-thalassemia in India.
Africa
The Texas Children’s Global HOPESM (Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence) program, launched with a foundational contribution from the BMS Foundation in 2017, is strengthening local healthcare systems to provide essential care for children with cancer, through training local African doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals, and establishing pediatric centers of excellence for clinical care, education, research and beyond.
Global HOPE has treated more than 23,000 children with cancer since it began in 2017. They have now trained over 7,100 healthcare workers at all levels and 30 pediatric hematologists/oncologists, leading care in 12 referral hospitals across six countries.
Our work in oncology through Global HOPE is directly informed by the successful SECURE THE FUTURE initiative, a program launched by Bristol Myers Squibb and Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation in 1999 to address HIV/AIDS in the Sub-Saharan Africa that ultimately made a lasting difference in the lives of over 375,000 women, children and their families living with HIV through our support of more than 250 projects in 22 countries.
Now, we are leveraging the health infrastructure we have built over the last 25 years in Africa to fight the most urgent threat facing the continent, Sickle Cell Disease. Once again, in partnership with Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, the program will aim to transform devastating health outcomes in the region. About 300,000 children are born with SCD every year in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 500 die daily from complications related to the blood disorder.
With a focus on addressing gaps in non-urban areas and building local healthcare capacity, this program will integrate life-saving interventions into primary care facilities and train local health workers to help provide sustainable, long-term care in multiple countries thanks to expanded partnership with local Ministries of Health and the Africa CDC.
India
India has one of the highest incidences of β-thalassemia globally, with an estimated 150,000 people living with a severe form of the life-threatening blood disorder. In 2019, India had the 3rd highest under 5 mortality rate, representing an unmet need for better screening and care pathways.
The BMS Foundation is tackling these critical needs in India by focusing on programs that will increase access to beta thalassemia screening and care capacity including laboratory and blood transfusion services, genetic counseling, and other essential forms of care.