Ethiopia is among the six countries with the highest number of children orphaned by maternal cancer, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Status Report on Cancer 2026, highlighting the far-reaching social consequences of the disease. The report estimates that cancer claimed the lives of 4.4 million women globally in 2020, leaving more than a million children newly orphaned of their mothers. Nearly half of those children were in Asia, while more than one-third (35 percent) were in Africa.
India, China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Pakistan together accounted for about 40 percent of all children worldwide who lost their mothers to cancer, the report states. Breast and cervical cancers were the leading causes of maternal orphanhood. Around one in four children who lost their mothers to cancer were orphaned due to breast cancer, while one in five lost their mothers to cervical cancer.
The findings mirror Ethiopia’s cancer burden. According to the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) 2024 estimates, Ethiopia recorded an estimated 79,239 new cancer cases in 2024, including 52,362 among women. Breast cancer accounted for 36 percent of female cancer cases, followed by cervical cancer at 15.6 percent.
GLOBOCAN also estimates that 46,841 people died from cancer in Ethiopia in 2024. Among the cancer deaths, breast cancer accounted for 18.8 percent, while cervical cancer accounted for 10.7 percent. The WHO warns that the impact of maternal cancer extends far beyond the loss of life.
Children who lose a parent to cancer face increased risks of long-term mental health problems, emotional trauma, disrupted education, financial hardship, malnutrition and reduced social support. Describing cancer as having an “intergenerational impact,” the report says the burden of the disease is carried not only by patients but also by their families and caregivers, particularly children who lose parents during their formative years. Globally, an estimated 20.6 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2024, while nearly 10 million people died from the disease.
Approximately one in five people will develop cancer during their lifetime, according to the report. The report also projects the cumulative global economic cost of cancer to exceed USD 33.2 trillion between 2020 and 2050.
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