The Childhood Cancer Society of Ghana (CCSG) has unveiled a groundbreaking initiative to improve the early detection and treatment of childhood cancers in the country.

The programme, known as Community Parents Navigating Support for Early Childhood Cancer Detection (COMPASS), was launched in Accra and brought together key health stakeholders, including Professor Lorna Renner, President of CCSG.

COMPASS seeks to address one of the most pressing challenges in the fight against childhood cancer which is late presentation and delayed diagnosis. Many families are often unable to recognise early warning signs due to limited awareness, cultural beliefs, and logistical barriers to healthcare access.

These challenges frequently result in children being diagnosed at late stages, when treatment becomes more difficult and survival chances are significantly reduced.

The new initiative will formally train parents whose children have completed cancer treatment as community navigators. These parents will use their experiences to raise awareness in their communities, reduce stigma, and help guide suspected cases through complex referral pathways.

While many parents have already been informally playing this role, COMPASS aims to formalise and expand their efforts, ensuring wider reach and greater impact.

The COMPASS app developed by Mr David Kojo Hutchful and his team, will link patients from their communities, through the help of these navigators to referral hospitals where they can receive timely and appropriate treatment.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Emmanuella Amoako, the lead for the COMPASS project, highlighted the importance of building trust between communities and healthcare providers. “By equipping these parents and linking them to primary healthcare systems, COMPASS is creating an effective channel for early detection. This will go a long way in reducing childhood cancer morbidity and mortality in Ghana,” she said.

Health stakeholders at the launch praised the programme as a timely and innovative intervention, noting that it combines medical expertise with community-led advocacy to change outcomes for children.

COMPASS builds on the foundation of a shared-care paediatric oncology unit established by the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) in partnership with the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH). In just its first year, the unit recorded over 10 survivors, with some of their parents already acting as community advocates.

Over the next three years, COMPASS will train 50 parents across four regions, build the capacity of 160 healthcare workers in 26 districts to identify warning signs early, and deploy a mobile app to track referrals, document outcomes, and improve coordination between families, health facilities, and treatment centres.

The initiative is expected to increase early-stage childhood cancer detection by 20% in Ghana within three years. It also aligns with the World Health Organization’s Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer (GICC), which targets a 60% survival rate worldwide by 2030.

COMPASS is being funded through a grant from the My Child Matters programme, with support from Foundation S. Organisers describe it as a culturally relevant, cost-effective, and scalable model that could be replicated in other low- and middle-income countries facing similar challenges.

COMPASS is in partnership with World Child Cancer, Lifeline for Childhood Cancer Ghana and The Vivat Turkson foundation. With supported from the Ministry of Health, Ghana Health Service and WHO country office.