Dr Emmanuella Amoako, a pediatric oncologist at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, has been named winner of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's (IHME) 2026 Roux Prize, earning her a $100,000 award for her work improving early diagnosis, expanding access to treatment and advancing locally led cancer research in Ghana.
The prize recognizes her leadership as Lead Pediatric Oncologist at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, where she has built evidence driven services to improve early diagnosis and treatment access, as well as her wider work across Ghana on early detection, workforce development, national research collaboration and African led evidence for precision oncology.
Established by David and Barbara Roux in 2013 and awarded by IHME at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Roux Prize honors individuals whose use of health evidence has led to measurable improvements in population health.
Childhood cancer survival rates exceed 80 per cent in many high income countries, compared with less than 30 per cent in many African settings. Although Ghana has made progress and now has 12 pediatric oncologists, specialist services remain concentrated in a handful of urban centers, forcing many families to travel long distances for care. Dr Amoako's work has focused on closing that gap.
IHME Director Dr Christopher J.L. Murray said Amoako has used evidence to strengthen childhood cancer care delivery despite significant access barriers, translating clinical research into practical improvements in diagnosis and treatment, which he described as exactly the kind of leadership the prize was created to recognize.
In 2019, Amoako established a shared care pediatric oncology service at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, bringing treatment closer to families who previously travelled up to nine hours to reach specialist care. The service allows children to receive part of their treatment locally while staying connected to Ghana's comprehensive cancer centers, and has cared for more than 150 children since opening.
"What we have learned through the shared-care service can inform broader efforts to strengthen childhood cancer care across Ghana," Amoako said. "We now have an opportunity to improve early detection, diagnosis, and long-term capacity. The Roux Prize will help us build on this progress and expand the impact of our work."
She also developed COMPASS, short for Community Parents Navigating Support for Early Childhood Cancer Detection, a community driven program aimed at cutting delays in childhood cancer diagnosis. It trains parents of childhood cancer survivors and primary healthcare workers to spot warning signs, guide families through referrals and connect children to specialist services, and uses a digital platform to track suspected and confirmed cases. In its first months, COMPASS trained 10 parent navigators and 100 healthcare workers, and reached more than 1,000 people through community outreach.
Beyond her clinical work, Amoako is tackling the underrepresentation of African patients in cancer genomic data through her role with Yemaachi Biotech. People of African ancestry make up only a small fraction of global cancer genomic datasets, limiting how well precision medicine advances apply to them. Through The African Cancer Atlas, one of the continent's largest cancer genomics initiatives, she is helping build a genomic and clinical resource using samples from thousands of African patients, aimed at generating evidence that better represents African populations and speeding up discoveries that improve patient care continent wide.
Amoako is currently a Cancer Genetics Fellow at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, training she plans to bring back to Ghana to strengthen childhood cancer diagnosis, cancer genetics and precision oncology. She also serves as Director of Clinical Affairs at Yemaachi Biotech, Secretary of the Childhood Cancer Society of Ghana, and a part time lecturer at the University of Cape Coast School of Medical Sciences. Her past honors include the Johnson & Johnson Global Citizen Award (2017), the ASCO International Development and Education Award (2024) and the Pediatric Oncology Yvonne Award (2026). She has also written children's books for young patients, co-hosts the Global Health Unfiltered podcast and volunteers with Operation Smile.
The $100,000 award will support Amoako's efforts to strengthen pediatric oncology services across Ghana and improve the safety, dignity and quality of care children with cancer receive. She also plans to deepen collaboration across Africa on childhood cancer, working with governments, regional institutions and partners to boost investment in pediatric oncology services, workforce development, research and equitable access to diagnostics and treatment across the continent.
Amoako will be honored at an award ceremony in London on October 14. Following the ceremony, IHME will open nominations for the 2027 Roux Prize on November 1, with entries welcome from individuals across all countries and sectors, including government, civil society, research and frontline healthcare.
