Message from the CEO

When I penned my commentary for the 2020 Annual Report in early 2021, I did not think I would find myself once again writing about a year severely affected by an ongoing and debilitating pandemic. Yet here I am in 2022, looking back on another difficult year of fear and, sadly, too many deaths despite the arrival of vaccines. The pandemic continued to hinder health systems and cancer organisations and forced governments to choose between treating those with the virus and those with cancer and other NCDs.

The result: a year of further delays to cancer diagnosis, postponed treatments and a backlog of undiagnosed cancer patients, which some estimate to be growing by more than 100,000 per month. We have lost much ground we had gained in addressing the cancer burden in recent years, and we face an enormous challenge in 2022 and beyond as we work to regain it.

However, the pandemic has also revealed the depth of resilience and fortitude in the cancer community and I am proud to have witnessed an entrepreneurial spirit spread across our membership, as it worked to solve the twin challenges of reaching and supporting patients and funding the critical work we do on a daily basis. For UICC, it soon became evident that we would once again have to deliver our suite of services virtually. Despite our absolute commitment to organising the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Boston, that also had to be switched to a fully virtual event weeks before it was due to take place. Despite this, we saw record numbers of UICC members engage with our full range of services and events during the year and new initiatives and partnerships emerged which I am hopeful will bear fruit in 2022.

Financially, like many organisations, we struggled to secure the funding needed to deliver everything we planned to do, but thanks to the strong commitment of our members and partners we concluded the year with a full team in place for 2022 and sufficient financial reserves in case the coming years prove to be as difficult as the last two.

My thanks to the Members of the Board and our President, Anil D’Cruz, who steered the organisation with grace and determination in a year of remote leadership. The UICC team continues to be awesome and I am so proud of everything they did in 2021. They pulled together, focused on helping our members every day and, despite the personal challenges they all faced, embodied the spirit and ambition of the organisation throughout the year.

Dr Cary Adams Chief Executive Officer, Union for International Cancer Control

The UICC unites and supports the cancer community to reduce the global cancer burden, to promote greater equity, and to ensure that cancer control continues to be a priority in the world health and development agenda.