Indian PM Narendra Modi pledges $7.5 million to QUAD Leaders' Cancer Moonshot initiative

Speaking at the QUAD Leaders' Cancer Moonshot Event, Modi said: " I am delighted to share that, through the initiatives of GAVI and the QUAD, India will contribute 40 million vaccine doses for Indo-Pacific countries."

"These 40 million vaccine doses will become rays of hope in the lives of crores of people," he said.

Modi said: "As you can see, when the QUAD acts, it is not just for nations – it is for the people. This is the true essence of our human-centric approach."

He said India's vision is "One Earth, One Health."

"In this spirit, I am pleased to announce our contribution of $7.5 million for sampling kits, detection kits, and vaccines under the Quad Moonshot Initiative. India will also offer support in radiotherapy treatment and capacity building," he said.

Modi said India has a 'very cost-effective' ongoing cervical cancer screening program on a mass scale.

"India also runs the world's largest health insurance scheme," he said.

" India has also developed its own vaccine for cervical cancer. And new treatment protocols are being launched with the assistance of AI," Modi said.

What is Quad Leaders' Cancer Moonshot initiative?

The United States, Australia, India, and Japan have launched an effort to help end cancer in the Indo-Pacific, starting with cervical cancer, a largely preventable disease that continues to be a major health crisis in the region, and laying the groundwork to address other forms of cancer as well.

This initiative is part of a broader set of announcements made at the Quad Leaders Summit.

The Quad Cancer Moonshot will serve to strengthen the overall cancer care ecosystem in the Indo-Pacific by improving health infrastructure, expanding research collaborations, building data systems, and providing greater support for cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and care, reported PMO India website.

More than two years ago, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot with the goals of reducing the cancer death rate in the United States by at least half—preventing more than 4 million cancer deaths—by 2047, and improving the experience of people who are touched by cancer.