Key Takeaways:
- The United Nations is poised to formally recognize childhood cancer in its Fourth High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases—a historic first that could reshape global and local healthcare priorities.
- Because the draft declaration did not pass by consensus in September 2025, it must go to a formal vote of the full UN General Assembly, where the childhood cancer language remains vulnerable to removal.
- For Nevada—a state with significant pediatric subspecialty shortages—global recognition would strengthen funding pathways, research partnerships, and legislative momentum for childhood cancer and rare disease care.
- Cure 4 The Kids Foundation, as a member of Childhood Cancer International (CCI), is calling on Nevada’s healthcare community, policymakers, and advocates to support retaining childhood cancer in the final declaration.
Every week at Cure 4 The Kids Foundation, a child sits across from us whose entire future depends on timely diagnosis, coordinated care, and a system strong enough to support their family through the fight of their lives. These aren’t hypothetical scenarios or distant policy discussions—they’re the reality for Nevada families navigating childhood cancer right now.
That’s why what’s happening at the United Nations matters deeply, not just in theory, but in the most practical, immediate, life-changing ways.
For the first time in history, the draft Outcome Declaration for the UN’s Fourth High-Level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) includes childhood cancer. This represents a breakthrough moment in global health policy—one that has the potential to reshape how nations prioritize, fund, and coordinate pediatric cancer care.
And it is fragile.
Understanding the Stakes: What’s Happening at the UN
The UN’s High-Level Meetings on NCDs occur approximately every 4–7 years and set the global agenda for how countries address diseases like cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. Historically, these declarations have focused almost exclusively on adult populations, leaving childhood cancer—and the unique needs of pediatric patients—largely invisible in global health policy.
The current draft declaration changes that. For the first time, childhood cancer is explicitly named, acknowledging that children face distinct challenges that require dedicated attention, resources, and systems of care.
However, because the declaration did not achieve consensus approval during the September 2025 session, it must now proceed to a formal vote before the full UN General Assembly. Until that vote occurs—which could be scheduled at any time—the childhood cancer language remains vulnerable.
It can still be amended, weakened, or removed entirely.
Globally, childhood cancer is diagnosed in approximately 400,000 children each year. In the United States, cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease after infancy among children. Yet despite this, pediatric oncology has historically received a fraction of the research funding and policy attention given to adult cancers.
Why Nevada Cannot Afford to Lose This Moment
Nevada faces unique challenges in pediatric healthcare that make global recognition of childhood cancer particularly consequential for our state.
We have one of the lowest ratios of pediatric subspecialists per capita in the nation. In fact, according to a sobering KNPR report, “depending on where you look, the state ranks between 46th and 49th in number of pediatric doctors per capita.” Families in rural Nevada often travel hundreds of miles (including across state lines) to access specialized care, and our state has historically ranked among the lowest for children’s healthcare access and outcomes.
These aren’t failures of will—they’re structural gaps that require sustained policy attention, dedicated funding streams, and workforce development initiatives to address. Global recognition of childhood cancer as a priority area for NCDs would provide critical support for the work Nevada has already begun.
How the UN Declaration Aligns With Nevada’s Strategic Healthcare Priorities
At Cure 4 The Kids Foundation, our strategic plan—Here We Grow Again—is built around five pillars: Disruption, Radical Relationships, Innovation, Workforce Development, and Equity in Access. The inclusion of childhood cancer in the UN declaration strengthens each one.
Disruption: Building What Children Truly Need
Childhood cancer has been overlooked globally for decades because healthcare systems were structured around adult needs. The assumption that pediatric care could simply be scaled-down adult care has proven inadequate—children’s bodies, developmental stages, and long-term survivorship needs are fundamentally different.
Experts and advocates in Nevada have long rejected that model. Recognition at the UN level validates what we’ve known: children are not small adults, and their care cannot be an afterthought. This global acknowledgment creates leverage for continued investment in pediatric-specific infrastructure, protocols, and training.
Radical Relationships: Collaboration Across Borders
Strategic growth in pediatric healthcare requires bold partnerships—with universities, policymakers, health systems, and global organizations. As proud members of Childhood Cancer International (CCI), Cure 4 The Kids Foundation stands with advocates worldwide who are working to protect the childhood cancer language in this declaration.
CCI is a global network of member organizations, allies, and collaborative partners that has been instrumental in elevating childhood cancer on the global stage. Nevada’s participation in this international movement positions our state’s healthcare institutions for expanded collaboration, knowledge sharing, and partnership opportunities.
Innovation: Strengthening the Systems Behind the Care
Nevada has made significant investments in healthcare infrastructure that directly supports children with cancer and rare diseases. We’re building registries, we’re modernizing genetics infrastructure through expanded newborn screening, and developing psychosocial and behavioral health pathways that recognize the whole-family impact of pediatric illness.
Global recognition fuels these initiatives by opening doors for new research opportunities, improving data integration across systems, and attracting workforce talent to Nevada. When childhood cancer is recognized as a global priority, the funding and partnership landscape shifts accordingly.
Workforce Development: Addressing Nevada’s Most Critical Barrier
The UN declaration specifically highlights the need for a pediatric-focused NCD workforce—precisely what Nevada is fighting to build.
Through initiatives like SB165—a bill designed to create a new licensed profession called the Behavioral Health and Wellness Practitioner that also establishes a regulatory framework for this practice—and academic partnerships, telehealth expansion, and the ongoing work of the Nevada Rare Disease Advisory Council (NV-RDAC), we are actively addressing these gaps. Global recognition adds momentum and legitimacy to these efforts, helping attract federal attention and resources to Nevada’s workforce challenges.
Equity in Access: Ensuring No Child Is Left Behind
Recognition on the world stage supports the priorities most central to improving outcomes: early diagnosis, coordinated care systems, and equitable access to high-quality pediatric treatment regardless of geography or socioeconomic status.
For Nevada families—particularly those in rural areas or underserved communities—this matters enormously. When childhood cancer is prioritized globally, it strengthens the case for investments in telehealth infrastructure, transportation support, family navigation services, and the other wraparound resources that determine whether a child can actually access the care they need.
What Nevada Stands to Gain…Or Lose
If childhood cancer remains in the final UN declaration, Nevada gains:
- Stronger alignment with federal and global health priorities, positioning the state favorably for grants, demonstration projects, and policy initiatives.
- Increased eligibility for research funding and international partnerships that could bring new clinical trials and treatment options to Nevada families.
- Reinforcement for Nevada’s legislative progress, including the work of NV-RDAC and initiatives advancing through the state legislature.
- Momentum for the 2026–2028 NV-RDAC State Plan, which will guide Nevada’s approach to rare diseases and childhood cancer for years to come.
- Validation for Nevada’s investments in early detection, data systems, and workforce development—demonstrating that our state is aligned with international best practices.
If the childhood cancer language is removed, this rare global opportunity disappears. The policy momentum we’ve built over the last decade becomes harder to advance. Nevada’s efforts to attract pediatric specialists, secure federal funding, and build sustainable infrastructure lose a critical source of support.
This is structural—the kind of foundational shift that determines what’s possible for the next generation of Nevada children facing cancer.
Now Nevadans Must Use Our Voice
Nevada has spent the last decade building the foundation for better pediatric cancer care. Now, as the world considers whether to formally recognize childhood cancer as a global health priority, we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to stand with the international community.
As Founder of Cure 4 The Kids Foundation and Chair of NV-RDAC, I am urging our partners, policymakers, healthcare providers, and advocates across Nevada:
This is the moment to pay attention. This is the moment to act.
Cure 4 The Kids Foundation proudly supports the global effort to retain childhood cancer in the final UN declaration. Because when the world recognizes children with cancer, it strengthens every system we are fighting to build—for Nevada, and for every child, everywhere.
About the Author: Annette Logan-Parker brings over 30 years of experience in pediatric oncology to her role as Founder and Chief Advocacy & Innovation Officer at Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. She has dedicated her career to improving outcomes for children with cancer and ensuring equitable access to cutting-edge treatments for all families.
