On 25 February, City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) officially launched C/Can Horizon, a new, complementary collaboration model designed to translate nearly a decade of proven implementation know-how into tangible health system improvements in new geographies.
The launch marks a milestone moment for C/Can,
Cancer cannot wait. There is a lot of demand out there
said Isabel Mestres, CEO, C/Can.
Building on a Decade of Implementation Experience
For nearly a decade, C/Can has worked alongside a growing network of (currently 17) Core Cities across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America to strengthen cancer care systems from the ground up. Our mandate has always been implementation, not advocacy, not science alone, but the hard, coordinated work of making sure that innovations and solutions actually reach clinicians and patients.
We do this at the city level because cities are a great reflection of a country’s healthcare system. In a city, you find everything from primary to tertiary care, government bodies, civil society organisations, and public and private sectors. All the actors of a healthcare system are present, and this is where implementation happens.
Though more than 214 implemented solutions, close to 6,000 healthcare workers trained, and nearly one million patients reached, our 17 Core Cities have demonstrated that locally led, multi-stakeholder, system-level collaboration can improve coordination, strengthen governance, enhance quality of care and push policy change at local, regional and national levels.
But generating knowledge is not sufficient to create impact across geographies.
What is C/Can Horizon and Why Now?
Over the past year, health systems around the world have come to us asking for hands-on support; not just knowledge, but practical application of what works. They want support to localise and implement, in their own ecosystems, what has already worked elsewhere in our Core Cities.
This is the challenge that C/Can Horizon is designed to solve.
C/Can Horizon is a complementary engagement model that enables health systems to access focused, accelerated implementation support and proven solutions, grounded in the same methods, technical resources, and international expert network developed through nearly a decade of Core City experience. The goal: to transfer those proven solutions and implementation methods to new geographies, which we now call Horizon Cities, through a co-created, customised implementation model that fits the specific needs and context of each city.
How C/Can Horizon Works?
While our Core Cities engage across the cancer care continuum over several years, C/Can Horizon engagements are by design more focused and shorter-term. They are built around a specific priority area and always co-designed with the local health system.
Every C/Can Horizon engagement is guided by a set of core principles:
- Agreement with public health authorities: we will not work without a clear mandate from the relevant government body.
- Focused intervention based on local needs: not a whole-system assessment, but targeted support in a clearly defined priority area.
- C/Can’s City Engagement Process Framework: our structured approach to uncovering the gaps and powering the system, applied in a streamlined way.
- City-level delivery: because that is both our identity and the most effective unit for driving implementation.
- A local implementation partner: a cornerstone of the Horizon model. We actively work hand-in-hand with an established local institution, whether an NGO, academic body, or government authority, to build the capacity to drive implementation themselves.
- Dedicated funding: C/Can Horizon engagements require specific financial resources to be mobilised for each collaboration.
We have mapped our implementation expertise across 18 areas spanning the full cancer care continuum, from city preparedness and stakeholder engagement to cancer registry and data systems, guideline development, digital health transformation, pathology, diagnostics, nuclear medicine, radiotherapy, systemic treatment, and supportive and palliative care. Horizon Cities can access targeted support across any of these areas.
Already in Four Horizon Cities
Horizon Cities is already underway in four locations, each illustrating a different dimension of what this model can deliver.
Uzbekistan: Clinical Guidelines
In Uzbekistan, C/Can Horizon was activated through a collaboration with WHO Europe, which was supporting a major national cancer investment project. The project required expert-led development of resource-appropriate clinical guidelines for breast and cervical cancer management, a first in the country. C/Can Horizon rapidly recruited and coordinated 16 international experts with the specific language skills, contextual understanding, and technical experience required, supported by a dedicated local consultant coordinator. This engagement also illustrates the power of the Core City work: experts from Tbilisi, Georgia, a C/Can Core City, were among those who contributed to the Uzbekistan work, a tangible example of city-to-city knowledge transfer.
Yogyakarta, Indonesia: Access to Breast Cancer
In Yogyakarta, C/Can Horizon is focused on strengthening access to breast cancer care. This engagement is also being used to explore how knowledge and tools developed in one city can be transferred to additional cities within the same country, a model that C/Can Horizon is actively co-designing with Indonesian partners.
Danang, Vietnam: Access to Breast Cancer Care
In Danang, we are similarly focused on access to breast cancer care, adapted to the Vietnamese context and aligned with national strategies.
Cairo, Egypt: Pathology and Capacity Building
In Cairo, C/Can Horizon is planning to support the Presidential Initiative for Cancer Early Detection and Management, a national initiative launched in 2023, operating across all 27 governorates, and focused on delivering equitable cancer care for the entire Egyptian population. C/Can Horizon will focus on strengthening pathology and capacity building. The work in Cairo spans stakeholder engagement, a pathology system situation analysis, quality management system development, capacity development, and a development plan that positions Cairo as a centre of excellence and knowledge hub for the rest of the country.
Watch the Launch Webinar
If you were unable to attend the launch event, you can access the full recording here:
Get in Touch
If you are working to strengthen cancer care in your country or city and are looking for a practical, experienced implementation partner, we would love to hear from you. The question we ask every potential partner is simple:
What can C/Can Horizon help you unlock?
For further information or to explore potential engagement, please contact:
Mathieu Morand
Director, Accelerator Hub
