IAEA Joins Forces With Six Industry Partners to Close Global Cancer Care Divide

The agreements were signed on the margins of the 70th IAEA General Conference during a side event titled “Strengthening Cancer Care Globally Through Action: Experiences from the Rays of Hope Anchor Centres.”

For people living in countries with limited cancer services, access to diagnosis and treatment depends on having the right equipment, trained professionals and reliable systems close enough to reach. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has signed agreements with six private sector partners through its Rays of Hope initiative to help address these gaps, strengthening access to diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy in low- and middle-income countries.

The agreements were signed on the margins of the 70th IAEA General Conference during a side event titled "Strengthening Cancer Care Globally Through Action: Experiences from the Rays of Hope Anchor Centres." IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi signed practical arrangements with Siemens Healthineers, Elekta, GE HealthCare, RaySearch, Vertual and AMEX Healthcare, bringing industry technology and expertise together with the agency's knowledge of radiation medicine, safety standards and international reach.

Building Cancer Services That Last

The partnerships respond to the growing burden of cancer and the uneven availability of services across countries, with support extending beyond equipment to the training, software and quality assurance needed to sustain care. Grossi described private sector cooperation as essential to the success of Rays of Hope, recognizing the companies' contributions of equipment, access to training applications and practical support for countries developing their cancer services.

Siemens Healthineers, Elekta and GE HealthCare have already supported the initiative through equipment, applications training and learning resources. RaySearch, Vertual and AMEX Healthcare are joining as new partners, contributing expertise, tools, software and training opportunities to support IAEA Member States and Rays of Hope Anchor Centres in expanding access to safe, high-quality cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Equipment and Training Reach Care Teams

One example of this support is a linear accelerator donated to the IAEA in 2025 by Varian, a Siemens Healthineers company, which will be installed at Black Lion Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The machine will expand the country's capacity to provide radiotherapy to cancer patients, connecting an industry contribution with a concrete need for additional treatment capacity.

Elekta has donated treatment planning workstations to a Rays of Hope Anchor Centre in Morocco and devices to the IAEA Dosimetry Laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria. These contributions support training and research to improve access to safe, effective and high-quality radiotherapy, particularly in underserved settings. GE HealthCare has supported medical professionals from 11 countries through a fellowship programme and given radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians from Anchor Centres access to learning platforms covering mammography and nuclear medicine.

Regional Centres Carry Knowledge Forward

Rays of Hope Anchor Centres serve as regional hubs of excellence, helping developing countries build, maintain and expand their radiation medicine services through cooperation with other countries in their regions. This model of South-South cooperation gives the partnerships a wider reach, as advanced technology, specialized software and continuing education resources can strengthen the centres' ability to support healthcare teams beyond their own institutions.

May Abdel-Wahab, Director of the IAEA Division of Human Health, said the arrangements would support greater access to diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy, advance research and development, and strengthen quality assurance. Software support and applications training are central to building lasting capacity for the next generation of healthcare professionals, giving countries the technical knowledge and practical skills needed to turn investment into dependable cancer services.