The Hill: As Western donors abandon Africa’s cancer crisis, Muslim nations are filling the gap
Naeem Khan, assistant secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

“…For a smart aid strategy, all nations — including America — must consider the prevention of diseases like cancer in the developing world, including Africa. This is in America — and other Western nations’ — best interest. … Another path for America’s aid operations, particularly in the face of potentially smaller budgets, is to work with new partners to deliver precision health care aid — a few researchers or a small specialized clinic, rather than the more sprawling, expensive aid projects of the past. These partners could include new humanitarian aid blocs, including pan-Islamic humanitarianism. Significant aid by individual Muslim-majority states is not a new occurrence … What is novel is many of these countries acting in a coordinated way to target otherwise neglected issues, under the leadership of an umbrella organization like the [Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)]. In humanitarian terms, the OIC is sometimes called ‘the Muslim U.N.’ As the U.N.’s role shifts, perhaps they can be a new key partner on the ground for many Western donor countries, including the United States” (8/6).