Article V of the Charter States:
The World Health Organization estimates that by the year 2020, 20 million new cases of cancer will emerge each year. 70% of these patients will live in countries that between them will have less than 5% of the resources for cancer control. Cancer will continue to become an increasingly important contributor to the global burden of disease as we enter the next millennium, despite the fact that many cancers are preventable through control of tobacco use, diet, infection and pollution. It is estimated, for instance, that infections – many potentially preventable – cause 15% of cancer worldwide and 22% of cancers in the developing world. The use of tobacco similarly causes millions of new cancers and cancer deaths each year, in both the developed and the developing world.
This reality emphasizes the need for development of public policies that support the fight against cancer and urgent deployment of existing knowledge and technologies in the basic prevention of cancer to stem the rising tide of disease. The parties undertake to:
- Actively support existing cancer prevention programs globally and build awareness and commitment to cancer prevention across all constituencies they represent.
- Identify opportunities to accelerate public education in tobacco control, diet modification, infection control, and environmental protection.
- Organize the support of industry and governments to enhance the delivery of cancer prevention through medical technology wherever possible
How has the global burden of cancer been addressed in the last 24 years?
Over the years, a number of programs and organizations come together to raise awareness and increase accessibility to treatments in less developed areas of the world.
Organizations like the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the USA have developed global health programs, directed through their Center for Global Health (CGH), that are designed to support capacity building for cancer research and treatment in the developing world. In addition, many organizations such as the WHO, Center for Disease Control, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the NCI, and a few others in the industry have joined together to form the International Cancer Control Partnership (ICCP). The partnership aims to help nations build national cancer control plans, and teach them how to use the resources at their disposal to implement these plans.
Other programs, like the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Initiative, are focused on increasing accessibility to cervical and breast cancer screenings and treatments in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, in the hope of reducing the burden these cancers place. Additionally, we’ve seen the expansion of programs such as Doctors Without Borders, which are now looking to treat cancer patients in low-income countries, such as Malawi with their model of care combining chemotherapy and surgery in the hope of reducing the cancer burden and mortality rate in these countries
Education on tobacco-related cancer and policies surrounding tobacco control have increased significantly over the last two and a half decades. According to the WHO, many nations in Africa are experiencing an increasing rate of tobacco use. As such, 44 countries in the region have ratified the WHO Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC), and 22 have ratified the FCTC’s Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products to mitigate the risks of tobacco-associated cancers in the region.
In terms of Latin America, a 2016 report from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) showed that 30 of the region’s countries have ratified the FCTC, and nearly half of the region has taken measures to preserve smoke-free environments and issue health warnings on tobacco consumption, to implement some of the tobacco control policies. However, only six of the 30 countries have implemented four or more of the FCTC-suggested measures, while 11 have implemented none at all, illustrating the continued prevalence of the issues surrounding tobacco in the region.
It’s also worth noting that ASCO has developed resource-dependent guidelines for all nations to allow them to deliver the best possible care to their cancer patients within their capacity based on the type and amount of resources available to the nation.
However, ahead of World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), released the latest estimates of the global burden of cancer. WHO also published survey results from 115 countries, showing a majority of countries do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services, as part of universal health coverage (UHC), indicating that there is still a gap that needs to be bridged in order to address cancer’s global burden.