Today, 240 representatives of governments, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Economic Forum, plus civil and corporate leaders from over 60 countries, publically agreed the actions incumbent on governments and societies to halt the spiralling global cancer epidemic.
“With an increasing number of cancer cases being diagnosed across the world (particularly in low- and middle-income countries), due to a large extent to preventable factors, the global incidence of cancer is projected to rise from 12.7 million in 2008 to 21.4 million by 2030,” states Andreas Ullrich MD MPH, Medical Officer Cancer Control, Department Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion, WHO Headquarters Geneva. “The world must act now to reduce the human suffering and economic impact of this disease.”
The milestone United Nations Political Declaration on the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), published September 2011, recognises the scale of the crisis of cancer and other NCDs, and their impact on social and economic development. However, crucially the Declaration lacks measurable targets to reduce preventable deaths.
Further to this, members of the international cancer community met today at the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit (WCLS) in Dublin to move from resolution to action. High-level representatives from the public and private sector pledged to support the Declaration and work together to increase prevention and control efforts; with the ultimate aim of reducing preventable deaths from cancer by 25% by 2025.
Significantly, the community ratified the Dublin Resolution which spells out the measurable actions required by governments and societies to help achieve their shared ambition of reducing the social and economic burden of cancer for future generations. These are:
· Developing time-bound indicators by 2012 that address the increasing cancer epidemic
· Promoting the inclusion of cancer-related targets in the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals
· Promoting local policies and approaches that will strengthen and facilitate multisectoral action against the disease
· Promoting sustainable and adequate resourcing in the areas of cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and care.
“It is unacceptable that millions of people worldwide still suffer unnecessarily and die prematurely from cancer,” comments Cary Adams, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) Chief Executive Officer. “To give the world the best chance of dramatically reducing the cancer epidemic, UICC urges world leaders to support the commitments of the Dublin Resolution by promoting sustainable resourcing and measurable targets for cancer in their countries.”
Commitment to measurable action against cancer is critical as the global burden of the disease is huge and set to rise:
· The cost of cancer to the global economy was estimated at $290 billion in 2010 - $154 billion of which were medical costs.
· Every month 600,000 people die of cancer that could be prevented with increased support and funding for prevention, detection and treatment programmes.
“The World Cancer Leaders’ Summit reminds us that we need to constantly refresh and reinvigorate our strategies to reduce cancer incidence in Ireland. Setting and meeting targets that will ultimately improve the population’s health and quality of life while cutting healthcare costs, is critical to Ireland’s leadership role in cancer control. We know that cancer places significant pressures on our health services but the physical and emotional toll of living with a NCD is considerable. By adopting lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, reducing our alcohol intake and eating healthily, we can all reduce our cancer risk,” said John McCormack, Chief Executive of the Irish Cancer Society (ICS).
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