On International Childhood Cancer Day, the World Health Organization launches the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, a new programme providing cost-free cancer medicines for thousands of children living in low- and middle-income countries in a bid to improve lagging survival rates. "No child with cancer should die because they lack access to essential medicines" says Dr Andre Ilbawi, the WHO’s Technical Officer for Cancer Control. "Each year, around 400,000 children are diagnosed with cancer and tragically, most of these children live in resource-limited countries where medicines are either unaffordable or unavailable," he adds. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES