Breast Cancer Treatment
for Women Who Cannot Afford Care

World Aid Network funds treatment for breast cancer in women who cannot afford private care. The programme covers the full treatment pathway — imaging, biopsy, surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and follow-up — for early and locally advanced breast cancer. Treatment is delivered by licensed oncologists and surgeons at accredited partner hospitals. The programme is expanding from an initial focus on peri-urban Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan, with capacity to be extended to Indonesia and Malaysia over time.

All treatment is delivered by licensed doctors at partner hospitals — oncologists, surgeons and radiologists registered with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) or the equivalent national body. World Aid Network does not employ medical staff or operate its own clinics. We fund the cost of treatment delivered by accredited local healthcare professionals.

Patients are referred through two routes: community screening camps run by partner organisations (where trained staff identify suspicious findings and refer for diagnostic imaging), or self-referral from women presenting with symptoms to a partner hospital. All funded patients must meet the programme's eligibility criteria — including inability to afford private care — and are approved by World Aid Network trustees before funding is released.

Our registered charitable objects cover cancer treatment (all types) for poor patients in Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia. In practice, breast cancer is the lead focus of our cancer programme because it is the most common cancer in women in our operating countries and presents the greatest unmet need. Other cancer types may be considered on a case-by-case basis as programme capacity develops. We are clear that we do not fund cancer research — only direct treatment for patients who cannot afford private care.

Across South and South-East Asia, the majority of breast cancer diagnoses occur at stage III or IV — locally advanced or metastatic disease. The main reasons are lack of awareness of early symptoms, cultural barriers to seeking medical advice, limited access to diagnostic imaging, and inability to pay for private assessment. By the time a patient reaches hospital, many cancers are already at an advanced stage — which means more complex treatment, lower survival rates and higher costs. Early screening and funded diagnosis is the most cost-effective intervention.

World Aid Network is a UK Charitable Incorporated Organisation with charity registration in progress. Gift Aid will be claimable once registration is granted — meaning UK taxpayers will be able to add 25p to every £1 donated at no cost to them.

World Aid Network operates a strict no-cash policy. All disbursements are made directly to partner hospitals via milestone bank transfer — never to individuals. Each payment is released against a named patient list and clinical justification approved by our trustees. Partner hospitals provide outcome reports for every funded patient. Trustees conduct periodic audits and may commission on-site reviews.