Diagnosis First: Financing the Lab to Improve Cancer Care

The American Society of Clinical Pathology (ASCP) is partnering with the Global Cancer Financing Platform (GCFP), an initiative announced during the UN General Assembly at an event sponsored by ASCO and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The GCFP is a bold effort to mobilize $1 billion by 2030 to strengthen cancer systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Since the initial announcement, platform leadership has continued moving from concept toward an operating architecture, with early country engagement now underway. 

Cancer is a leading cause of early death in over 70 countries, but it receives a small share of global health funding. Global projections also suggest that cancer incidence and mortality rates in some regions could double by 2040. Against a shifting global health funding landscape, the GCFP is designed to address a persistent gap in how cancer systems are financed, built, and sustained over time. In many settings, diagnostic infrastructure remains limited, and constraint delays care and limits treatment options. Experience across global health has repeatedly shown that laboratory systems take time to build, and outcomes improve when diagnostic capacity is developed before it is urgently needed. 

ASCP’s role in the Platform 

ASCP will help shape the Platform’s diagnostic strategy by ensuring laboratory medicine and pathology are embedded into the financing logic, governance approach, and performance metrics. This work will help translate strategy into practice, by: 

• Outlining measurable diagnostic targets, such as pathology turnaround time from biopsy to report, access to essential biomarker testing, and availability of trained pathologists and laboratory professionals 

• Contributing to training programs and national cancer control plans 

• Advising on data systems that make diagnostic capacity visible, measurable and accountable 

To achieve earlier diagnoses and better survival, it’s essential to fund the systems that make accurate diagnosis and staging possible. 

How the Platform works and what it supports 

Five countries—spanning Latin America, Central Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa—have already signed on to join the platform. Their participation reflects both urgency and readiness to pursue scalable cancer system investments.   

The GCFP will help governments build cancer care infrastructure and pursue objectives such as: 

• Increasing the proportion of patients diagnosed at earlier stages, when survival outcomes are highest 

• Expanding access to pathology and diagnostic services that inform clinical decision-making 

• Building treatment infrastructure and strengthening workforce capacity 

• Supporting innovation, equitable access, and transparent financing models 

• Reducing barriers to early care-seeking, including stigma 

Uganda as an early learning case 

Implementation is expected to begin alongside fundraising, and the Platform is now moving beyond theory through engagement with the government of Uganda. 

The Uganda pilot concept is based on creating a sovereign, performance-based cancer financing architecture. It has been shaped through an in-country visit in November 2025 and extensive engagement with national institutions like the Uganda Cancer Institute. Uganda is not positioned as a template for other countries but rather as a practical way to stress-test what it will take to make the Platform work in real operating conditions. This includes governance design, fiduciary interfaces, verification, and accountability, with country leadership firmly at the center.  

Building on lessons from global health 

ASCP’s global health work has shown that building diagnostic capacity requires long-term investment, quality systems, and an adequate workforce, not short-term fixes. Programs such as the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and other large-scale efforts in infectious diseases, have demonstrated how sustained investment in laboratory systems improves reliability and performance over time.   

Cancer, however, is unlikely to receive PEPFAR-level funding in most settings. That reality makes sustainability a central design requirement. The GCFP is therefore emphasizing financing approaches that are durable, country-led, and performance-oriented, with clear sequencing and accountability. This includes exploring innovative options such as reducing remittance transfer costs and channeling savings toward cancer care capacity, alongside public and philanthropic funding strategies.   

Toward 2030: Milestones and transparency 

The GCFP has established a website, gcf.finance, announcing and tracking early milestones, such as establishing governance, publishing a financing framework, and launching a transparency dashboard to track where funds go and their impact on patients. 

Looking ahead, Platform leadership plans to: 

• Use Uganda to stress-test assumptions 

• Agree on interim governance principles 

• Clarify fiduciary pathways 

• Protect scope and integrity during early country work  

The laboratory’s role in cancer care 

Cancer care starts with diagnosis, and diagnosis depends on the laboratory. Pathology and laboratory medicine guide staging, treatment selection, and monitoring. Investing in diagnostics is one of the most practical ways to make cancer systems work better. 

Through this partnership, ASCP will help ensure diagnostic capacity is built into country-led financing plans and measured for performance. That focus can accelerate earlier diagnosis and support faster, more effective treatment decisions.