September turns gold for a good reason.
Across the world, the gold ribbon is a reminder that children too can develop cancer and this is simply not a medical problem.
It is a family crisis that spirals into a financial burden, threatens education and suddenly turns the home into a place of uncertainty, fear and unanswered questions.
The global theme for 2026 is “Demonstrating Impact: From Challenge to Change.”
It charges us to look beyond the challenges and recognise what becomes possible when communities, health professionals, governments, families and advocates work together.
Globally, about 400,000 children and adolescents aged 0–19 develop cancer each year.
Yet more than 80 per cent of children with cancer can be cured, while survival in many low- and middle-income countries remains below 30 per cent.
This difference is not because African children have a different kind of cancer.
It is largely about access to early diagnosis, availability of cancer medications, surgery, radiotherapy, blood products, supportive care and follow-up.
Though Ghana has made a lot of progress in this regard, important gaps still remain.
There is a need for stronger investment to ensure equitable diagnosis and access to treatment.
Childhood cancers
Childhood cancers can be difficult to recognise because their symptoms may resemble other common childhood illnesses such as persistent or unexplained fever, unusual tiredness, weight loss or an unusual lump or swelling being massaged with ‘abonike’ and the like.
These signs and symptoms do not automatically mean a child has cancer.
They should not simply be ignored when they persist.
The World Health Organisation emphasises that early diagnosis depends on awareness of symptoms, accurate and timely evaluation, and prompt access to treatment.
This only means the first person who changes a child’s cancer journey may be anyone close to the child who notices that this child is not getting better as expected.
As is the case with many childhood conditions, early diagnosis and treatment remain a game changer.
We need stronger awareness among parents and frontline health workers.
We need reliable referral pathways. We need access to essential medicines and diagnostics. We need financial protection for families. We need psychosocial support, nutrition, rehabilitation and educational support.
And we must remember the child beyond the cancer.
A child receiving chemotherapy is still a child. Playing and learning must be assured.
Fun, friendship, love, hope and dignity must continue.
And when treatment ends and all is relatively better, the child must thrive.
Children need follow-up to identify and manage the physical, developmental, educational and psychological effects of cancer and its treatment.
Call
This year’s call to “Demonstrate Impact” is a wake-up call.
We can demonstrate impact by reducing delays in diagnosis, by making treatment more accessible, by supporting families, by strengthening paediatric oncology services and by ensuring that geography does not determine whether a child lives or dies.
Everyone can contribute to these one way or the other.
September is Gold September.
So let us wear gold and tell people why.
Let us have conversations about childhood cancer and how we can demonstrate impact because every child deserves not only a chance to survive cancer, but the opportunity to live, learn, play and fulfil their potential.
The writer is a Child development expert/Fellow of the
Zero-To-Three Academy, USA.
E-mail: nanaesi.gaisie@ wellchildhaven.com
