More children worldwide are surviving cancer, but progress is uneven. The World Health Organization has released five-year survival data for one type of blood cancer in 194 countries. Each year, about 400,000 people aged 19 and under develop cancer. Most childhood cancers can be treated, yet survival depends heavily on where patients live. In wealthy countries, 80 to 90 percent of young patients survive five years. In weaker health systems, the rate falls to around 40 percent.
The report calls this gap one of the biggest cases of unfairness in health. Among younger children, the median five-year survival rate for this cancer is 66.7 percent. Older teens, however, have only about a 39 percent chance of beating the disease. The WHO says investment in hospitals, training, and fair services can raise survival dramatically.