Through decades of work in the fight against AIDS, Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has developed knowledge on treating HIV-related cancers, such as Kaposi’s sarcoma as well as breast and cervical cancer — cancers that remain among the leading causes of death for women in many of the contexts where we work.

Cancer increasingly affects people living in fragile, humanitarian and low resource settings. Yet, delivering cancer care is still often considered too complex, specialised or resource-intensive in these contexts.  Women in particular, face late diagnosis, disrupted services, poverty, stigma, long and cost travel and very limited treatment options – abandoned to their fate.  

The barriers they confront in completing care range from limited diagnostics, medicines access, radiotherapy, programme financing, procurement and healthcare workforce capacity.

These are the constraints MSF teams grapple with during field implementation of context adapted models of care, while offering patient-centred and multidisciplinary approaches supported by fit-for-purpose research and innovation. 

Our operational experience challenges assumptions on the feasibility of cancer care in constrained settings – particularly on breast and cervical cancer. Over the last decade, we have run different cancer care support projects in Malawi, Mali, Papua New Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Eswatini and Zimbabwe.  

Our activities cover different parts of the care pathway: prevention, screening, diagnosis, referral, treatment support, palliative care, psychosocial support and focus on collaboration with national health systems. Recognizing that meaningful progress takes time, MSF commits to long-term engagement, continuously adapting programmes to meet patient needs and strengthen access to cancer care for the future. 

From these diverse experiences we have collected lessons working within constraints to bridge gaps. We aim to offer our insights to the wider cancer community and seek partners to help offer care where it’s needed most.  

Why focus on treating cancer?

The disease-burden in many developing nations is shifting, with cancer quickly becoming a major concern.

MSF works to improve survival and quality of life for people with cancer while expanding access to high-quality, patient-centred care in settings where services remain limited. Our approach goes beyond treating disease alone, focusing on holistic care, individualized patient pathways, research, and strong local and international partnerships. Success is measured not only by the number of people reached, but by the quality of care provided and the impact on patients' lives.

Our oncology projects can serve as a catalyst for strengthening cancer care more broadly in low-resource settings. By integrating services into existing health systems, collaborating with stakeholders, and supporting patient advocacy, we help build sustainable models that can be replicated and expanded.