The Dominican Republic has made significant progress in the last decade in early detection and childhood cancer treatment, which raises the survival rate to 60%, in some centers, however, authorities recognize that gaps still persist to reduce the incidence and reach standards comparable with the most developed health systems.
The authorities reaffirmed that this disease constitutes a national public health priority, supported by strategic planning, inter-institutional coordination and continuous strengthening of services.
They did so during a meeting held by the Ministry of Health, on International Childhood Cancer Day, led by the first lady, Raquel Arbaje, the Minister of Health Víctor Atallah and the director of the National Health Service, Julio Landrón.
“Although reaching 60% survival represents an important advance, the objective is to further increase life expectancy. The goal is for our boys and girls to overcome the disease. To achieve this, all institutions work in an articulated manner,” he expressed.
Victor Atallah
The Minister of Health highlighted that inter-institutional work has made it possible to provide greater support to families and strengthen the pediatric onco-care network, beyond simple statistics.
“Childhood cancer is a national public health priority. And it is because we have decided to face it with planning, coordination and responsibility. We have made progress in the progressive implementation of clinical protocols and strengthening the first level of care to improve early detection,” he highlighted.
Meanwhile, Raquel Arbaje highlighted that the opening of the Uniendo Voluntades Oncopediatric Pavilion, conceived as part of her vision of comprehensive care for children with cancer, has allowed more cases to be diagnosed in time. In that sense, he expressed: “Cancer moves day by day and is overcome as a family; it is overcome with the support that you, the collaborators, the doctors and the nurses provide. Always a smile, even in the most difficult moment.”
The Superintendency of Health and Occupational Risks presented the main results and recommendations of the proposal to close gaps in the financing of childhood cancer, with the proposal to include medications and procedures that were not covered by the state and will now be covered, during a presentation by Dr. Yesenia Díaz, director of Health Insurance for Contributory Regimes and Plans.
According to Public Health data, the survival of children with cancer went from between 20% and 30% ten years ago, to less than 40% in 2019, to over 60%. The Dominican Republic was recognized in 2024 for its national strategy and in 2025 it received the Alignment Poster Winner award, for the coherence of its actions with the international pillars of the strategy.
