Islamic Development Banks (IsDB) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Partner with CGHD to Establish an Investment Fund to Support the Saving Women’s Lives from Cancer Initiative

Worldwide, more than 8.6 million women suffer, and many die from largely preventable and treatable cancers. This situation is even more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries, where 61% of cases and 70% of these deaths occurred. There is an urgent need to scale-up effective diagnosis and treatment of women’s cancers in these countries, given the high burden of the disease and the availability of cost-effective interventions. To meet these objectives, significant investments involving a broad range of partners in comprehensive cancer control are required and crucial to improving the quality of life of women affected by cancer while at the same time strengthening national health systems.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been working over the recent decade to support common Member States in improving cancer control and expand access to effective, safe and sustainable cancer diagnostics and treatment services. This partnership was recently expanded to develop the Saving Women’s Lives from Cancer Initiative, which aims to achieve improved maternal and reproductive health for women in LMICs by expanding and scaling-up Member States’ capacities for the effective, safe and sustainable delivery of cancer control services.

IsDB and IAEA have partnered with the Center for Global Health and Development (CGHD) to:

• Engage global private investors to model different types of innovative financing vehicles including the use of concessional funding, first loss capital, loan guarantees and technical assistance to meet the goals of Initiative;
• Engage development agencies and banks, multi-lateral organizations, foundations and other philanthropic entities on how to model grant funds to catalyze private sector investment; and,
• Engage leading health organizations, NGOs, private health sector companies and others to create a pipeline of funding opportunities for Saving Women’s Lives from Cancer that will serve as investable opportunities for innovative financing vehicles.

As part of this work, CGHD is honored to have brought together government leaders, investors (PE, Venture, Angel), heads of foundations, development agencies, finance institutions and private sector companies for a series of roundtables and bi-lateral meetings with the IsDB and IAEA, including:

A roundtable in Washington, D.C. (21 February 2020), where participants had a robust discussion on financing tools and models that have risk reducing components such as concessional financing/loans, first loss capital, guarantees and technical assistance. They also considered new developments in screening, detecting, treating and quality care in the cancer field that would complement the Saving Women’s Lives from Cancer Initiative, and the steps that may be taken to coordinate the public health components with investors and development banks/agencies to create attractive investible opportunities.

The Center, IsDB, and IAEA are continuing to move forward with the resource mobilization strategy, and are currently developing plans to engage potential donors using virtual platforms.