Czechia to Boost Fight Against Cancer with EU Recovery Funding

Czechia is making significant strides in the fight against cancer, leveraging the EU’s recovery funding to enhance its oncology infrastructure.

In January, representatives of the Czech government, regional authorities and the healthcare community inaugurated the construction of the two new buildings at the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute (MMCI) in Brno. In the autumn of 2023, the construction of a new oncology centre was also launched in Prague’s Motol University Hospital (MUH).

Both projects are supported by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, an instrument created at the EU level to help the member states with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on national economies.

“I see only positives in the new buildings. It will allow us to relocate and expand our existing cancer prevention, genetics, and patient education facilities and create new space for supportive care and clinical research,” said Marek Svoboda, Director of the MMCI.

Within the National Recovery Plan framework, which unlocks the country’s access to the Facility, around €340 million has been allocated for oncology, including the construction of new centres in Prague and Brno.

New centres in MMCI in Brno will focus on effective cancer prevention. Construction works are planned until December 2025; the following year, both new pavilions will open to the public. The investment will amount to €40 million.

The new centres in Brno are part of the Czech’s larger plans to strengthen the national fight against cancer.

“The development of the Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute is taking place simultaneously with the development of the entire national network of similar centres and screening programs,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala explained in mid-January while inaugurating the construction of the new oncology centre in Brno, the second largest Czech city.

Czechia will have a new cancer institute

A new institute will also be built at Motol Hospital in Prague. The Recovery and Resilience Facility will finance the project with more than €148 million.

The institute will provide comprehensive oncological care, including prevention, diagnostics and oncological, radiotherapeutic and surgical treatment. Bed capacity will also be increased to improve oncological care availability throughout the country. It will also strengthen the cooperation of experts within multidisciplinary teams.

The Motol Cancer Centre will also be linked to the Scientific and Diagnostic Oncology Centre, which aims to boost the application of the latest scientific knowledge for cancer treatment.

The Motol Oncology Centre will have the status of a Czech National Cancer Centre, and it will be used to train medics, nurses, young doctors, medical physicists and other healthcare professionals. The centre is expected to be fully operational by July 2026.

Besides the infrastructure, the EU funding will also boost preventive screening programmes in the country.