May 14 — Today, City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) announced a new five-year partnership with MSD to strengthen cancer care for women through community-led collaboration in 15 cities worldwide. Through Thriving Cities, Healthy Women, C/Can will work alongside municipal leaders, health authorities, clinicians and patient groups to co-design and implement solutions that improve how quickly women are diagnosed and treated for cancer. The partnership aims to reach more than 300,000 women living with cancer.
Across many cities, women face delays between suspected cancer and confirmed diagnosis, as well as barriers that slow the start of treatment. Referral pathways can be fragmented and diagnostic capacity limited, making it difficult for patients to navigate through the care system effectively. Through this partnership, cities will work to strengthen these critical points in the cancer care journey through measurable improvements in diagnosis timelines, treatment initiation, and completion rates.
Too many women are diagnosed too late, treated too late or never treated at all. That is not inevitable – it is fixable,
said Isabel Mestres, CEO, City Cancer Challenge.
Prioritising women and health is a powerful lever for stronger health systems, economic resilience and social progress.
Every year, more than 2.3 million women die prematurely from cancer, nearly three-quarters of them in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). As many as 800,000 of women’s lives could be saved annually through earlier diagnosis and access to appropriate treatment¹. Five-year survival decreases significantly from 99 to 33 percent for women with a late breast cancer diagnosis². Too often, outcomes are shaped not by the complexity of the disease, but by gaps in coordination, access and system capacity.
People should be able to access timely cancer care – no matter where they live. By partnering with City Cancer Challenge, we’re working city by city to strengthen local systems so more women can be diagnosed earlier and get the care they need close to home
said Dr. Kalahn Taylor-Clark, Vice President and Head of Social Impact and Sustainability at MSD.
By 2030, the partnership aims to reach more than 300,000 women living with cancer across 15 cities and support the training of more than 2,000 health professionals to expand oncology capacity. Beyond those directly served, more than 11 million patients in the initiative catchment area could benefit indirectly through policy influence and national scale-up. Participating cities will track measurable improvements in diagnosis timelines, treatment initiation and completion rates – ensuring progress is defined by outcomes.
Turning Evidence into Action at the City Level
Supported by a USD 10 million, five-year commitment from MSD, the initiative is designed to strengthen the systems that cities lead and sustain, embedding improvements in governance, referral pathways, service quality and routine data systems rather than creating stand-alone programs.
The initial 2026 cohort spans cities across Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America, collectively projected to reach nearly 99,000 women in the first phase. Insights from participating cities will inform broader national strategies and peer learning across C/Can’s city network.
Women’s Health as a Catalyst for System Resilience
When women cannot access timely cancer treatment, the consequences extend beyond individual patients. Families may lose caregivers and income earners; communities experience reduced productivity and health systems incur higher costs associated with advanced disease. Advancing equitable cancer care for women is therefore both a health priority and a driver of social and economic resilience.
Building on their collaboration since 2019, C/Can and MSD bring complementary strengths to this effort, combining C/Can’s unique city-based implementation model with MSD’s experience in women’s health. Through its City Engagement Process Framework (CEPF)³, C/Can will support cities to lead a phased process including needs assessment, planning, programme design, implementation and evaluation. This ensures solutions are shaped by local data, priorities, and leadership, while benefiting from global expertise. Progress will be reviewed annually to ensure continued learning, accountability and measurable impact, driving sustainable change rather than one-time milestones.
Local Impact, Broader Momentum
While the initiative directly supports 15 cities, its impact is designed to extend further through implementation research, policy engagement and knowledge sharing. By aligning global expertise with local leadership, C/Can, MSD and city partners aim to demonstrate that preventable cancer deaths among women are not inevitable and that sustained, collaborative action can deliver lasting change through stronger health systems.
