Francis Kwoba is a 68-year-old retired policeman from Bungoma County, Kenya. During one of his usual morning runs, he experienced a sudden sharp pain in his chest. Concerned by the symptoms, he sought medical attention at the nearest health facility and was prescribed an anti-tuberculosis medication for treatment. After three months, Francis's chest pain persisted and he began experiencing breathlessness. At Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), doctors found fluid in his lungs and a chest CT scan revealed aggressive lung cancer.
In much of Sub-Saharan Africa, that diagnosis can be a death sentence, not because treatment doesn't exist, but because cancer is so often caught too late.
Through the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation (BMS Foundation) Multinational Lung Cancer Control Program (MLCCP) in partnership with Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH) at MTRH, Francis received targeted treatment, patient navigation and psychosocial support that, in his words, helped “strengthen my spirit.”
As MLCCP Principal Investigator Prof. Lameck Diero shared, “Once you are in the program, you are family.”
Today, Francis is a survivor and an advocate, showing others there can be a second act.
Beyond just relevant information about Bristol Myers Squibb's therapeutic areas and innovation, Our stories offer a window into the work our employees do every day for patients.
Stories like Francis’ are what the BMS Foundation has spent more than 25 years working to make possible in Africa, and in other geographies around the world. What began with the HIV/AIDS crisis in sub-Saharan Africa now spans lung cancer, cervical cancer, pediatric cancers and pediatric blood disorders across multiple countries.
“What 25 years has taught us is that sustainable impact comes from strengthening local systems from within — building the capacity that remains long after any single program ends, so care can reach patients earlier and keep reaching them over time,” says Catharine Grimes, president of the BMS Foundation.
The same philosophy shapes the fight against cervical cancer in western Kenya. Through Cure Cervical Cancer Kenya's Mobile Health for Mamas program, trained Community Health Promoters (CHPs) reach women where they are — at home and at mobile treatment outreach sites — guiding them from HPV self-collection through treatment. A portable, solar-powered mobile laboratory processes samples on-site and returns results in roughly 90 minutes.
More than 37,000 women have been screened to date; for many, it was their first. The World Health Organization recommends screening by age 35 and again by 45, benchmarks that remain out of reach for millions across sub-Saharan Africa.
During one household visit in Vihiga County, the power of that model was impossible to miss. Beatrice Kadesa Kidagi is 49 years old, widowed since 2012, and the sole provider for her seven children. She supports her family by picking tea on local farms, and at 49, had missed both of those recommended screening windows. Getting to an outreach site simply was not possible with her responsibilities at home.
On a February morning in 2026, a CHP arrived at Beatrice’s home in Jemaga Village. She sat with Beatrice, explained HPV, walked her through self-sampling and stayed until apprehension gave way to trust.
When her screening results came back invalid, she didn't give up. She called her CHP. She asked what came next. And she is now waiting for her follow-up test.
“Beatrice's story is what a system built on trust looks like in practice,” says Wendy Short Bartie, board member of the BMS Foundation. “It makes clear how much of a difference it can make when care is not only available, but truly within reach. And when you see the system working, it affirms everything the Foundation has built over 25 years — and that there is still more to do.”
For children, the impact has been just as great. Launched in 2016 with Texas Children's Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Global Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence (HOPE) program set out to build pediatric hematology-oncology capacity across sub-Saharan Africa. The results are measurable and undeniable: early death rates for children on cancer treatment have fallen from 85% to 14%, and survival rates have more than quadrupled.
A father described learning that his young child had cancer, a diagnosis that, not long ago, would have offered little hope. Through the health system being built by local leaders and supported by Global HOPE, his child received the care she needed and is now thriving.
The legacy of Global HOPE’s work and impact reached a historic milestone when leaders from across the continent recently gathered to validate and launch the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Continental Framework for Sickle Cell Disease, with more than two-thirds of African Union member states aligned behind a shared plan.
“Of the 300,000 children born with sickle cell disease in Africa every year, 80% will not live to see their fifth birthday, despite the availability of effective, low-cost interventions,” says Dr. Joseph Lubega, director of Texas Children’s Global HOPE.
For Foundation leadership, including BMS Foundation Board Member Cristian Massacesi, the number is a call to action.
“The Continental Framework for Sickle Cell Disease is about children and families — ensuring that access to life-saving care does not depend on where a child is born, or the circumstances into which they arrive,” Massacesi says. “It is the standard we hold ourselves to, and the reason the BMS Foundation remains committed to Africa for the long term.”
From CHPs reaching women who have never been screened to specialists trained under Global HOPE now leading pediatric oncology departments and mentoring the next generation, the Foundation's work in Africa is a compounding commitment — felt in every system strengthened, every clinician trained and every patient, like Francis and Beatrice, who are still here to tell their stories.
Examples like these offer a model for the BMS Foundation and others working to impact medically underserved communities around the world.
The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation is an independent charitable organization dedicated to its mission to improve global health through strong, local healthcare systems.
Bristol Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. As global citizens, we work sustainably and responsibly to create a positive impact in the communities where we live and work.
