Addressing global health challenges requires more than global strategies—it demands local action. At City Cancer Challenge (C/Can), we see cities as powerful engines of change, capable of driving equitable access to quality health services and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In May 2024, C/Can launched a dedicated research initiative—supported by Sanofi’s Global Health Unit—to generate evidence on cancer care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and strengthen local research capacity. Embedded within C/Can’s city model, this initiative integrates implementation science into technical cooperation efforts across 16 cities, helping translate global evidence into local solutions.

Join us in AORTIC 2025 for this session, which will present progress and early findings from the first 18 months of the initiative, highlight locally-led research from C/Can cities, and explore how partnerships are strengthening Africa’s research ecosystem, including C/Can’s new collaboration with the AORTIC Journal of Cancer Research.