Excellence in Healthcare Partnerships

Summary of work

From data to policy action: How Pfizer’s CTRL Cancer partnership is facilitating policy change to improve cancer care in Central and Eastern Europe.

Analysis of the cancer care landscape in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) reveals an alarming disparity between this region and its western counterparts. For patients there, this means lower care standards and Europe’s highest cancer mortality rates, compared with Northern, Southern and Western countries.

The CTRL Cancer Initiative strategy and engagement plan designed by our agency for Pfizer Oncology supports the development of National Cancer Control Plans (NCCPs) and policies in CEE. Our 16 evidence-based CTRL Cancer Country Dashboards present unique analysis on cancer care and policies feeding into policy engagement actions, including: CTRL Cancer Summit; policy interactions and knowledge sharing between countries; workshops and capacity building; and media engagement. This is an innovative, multi-stakeholder partnership of cancer care professionals, clinicians and patient organisations, guided by a board of influential international researchers and academics to ensure maximum relevance to national needs.

Ukrainian partners demonstrated the first significant outcome of this initiative in February 2020. They applied the CTRL Cancer approach for their National Cancer Policy Forum (2020), that encouraged a vote in Parliament to develop an NCCP with focus on screening programmes (currently not available in Ukraine) and unlock funds for its implementation in 2021.

Judges' comments

Pfizer and Porter Novelli’s programme met a tough challenge with impressive scale. A strategic entry which clearly linked evidence-based insights to approach and delivery.