Winner
Roche - Africa Breast Cancer Ambition (ABCA)
Summary of work
Breast cancer is a growing crisis across Africa, where late-stage diagnosis and systemic barriers drastically limit survival. In response, Roche’s Africa Breast Cancer Ambition (ABCA) is a transformative, systems-wide initiative designed to reshape the continent’s cancer care ecosystem by 2030. ABCA aims to improve 5-year survival from 5 in 10 to 8 in 10 women, reduce late-stage diagnoses from 70% to 40% and increase standard care access from 35% to 80%. Built on three pillars – standard-of-care infrastructure, sustainable financing, and digital innovation – ABCA moves beyond traditional models. It establishes pioneering public-private partnerships and integrates digital tools like AI-supported screening and patient navigation platforms to build resilient, self-sustaining patient-empowered health systems that deliver improved outcomes for women and their families, while continuously expanding diagnostic capacity and training the healthcare workforce. By reframing cancer care as a transformational economic growth opportunity rather than a cost burden, the initiative delivers compounding social and economic dividends and exemplifies how equitable care can drive a sustainable business for the sponsoring company. ABCA is a scalable framework that strengthens local ownership and improves equity, serving as a blueprint for how targeted investment in women’s health can create a new standard for non-communicable disease care across Africa.
Judges’ comments
The “Africa Breast Cancer Ambition” was a standout ecosystem-level transformation, combining public-private partnerships, digital innovation, and sustainable financing into a coherent, scalable model. The early results already show system-wide impact. It was an outstanding submission, with an excellent approach, clear objectives and real impact on health outcomes.
