4 minute read
Delivering a powerful global health and development agenda
by UICC
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to dominate global health discussions in Geneva, with WHO governance meetings largely being held virtually. At a Special Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), WHO Member States officially started the process of developing a new global mechanism to support more effective pandemic preparedness and response. UICC actively participated in these discussions, working with Mission contacts to understand the key issues and opportunities to integrate cancer control into the mechanism.
UICC also co-organised several virtual briefings for the Permanent Missions with the NCD Alliance and other Geneva-based advocates ahead of WHO governance events, such as the Executive Board, the WHA and Special Sessions of the WHA. In addition, in collaboration with the Swedish Cancer Society, UICC organised a virtual side event during the WHA entitled “Antimicrobial resistance (AMR): a threat to future cancer treatments and the role of healthcare personnel.” The objective of the event was to highlight the threat that AMR poses to cancer care outcomes and was well-attended by the representatives of several governments, UICC members and other civil society organisations. To mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) in November, UICC collaborated with ReAct, the Norwegian Cancer Society and the Wellcome Trust to organise a special meeting on access to treatments, including medicines and diagnostics. One of the key points discussed was the need for evidence-based treatment guidelines adapted to local settings. In addition, this group also published an article in Cancer Control stressing the importance of partnerships in addressing AMR for better cancer care outcomes.
“Addressing AMR for cancer care outcomes should be high on the global health agenda. The role of healthcare workers in addressing AMR should be strengthened, and this in turn will positively influence cancer care outcomes."
Ulrika Årehed Kågström, UICC Board Member “It is not that we are not working together but we need to work even more together. Power is in the numbers. We have different constituencies, different tools, different opportunities. The tobacco community offers legal tools, which can help the cancer community achieve its aims of moving countries in the right direction, while the cancer community is closer to clinical settings, which can help better inform us and build records on cancers caused by tobacco.”
Dr Adriana Blanco Marquizo, Head of the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)
UICC engaged in tobacco control advocacy throughout the year. Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May 2021, UICC strongly promoted tobacco cessation and prevention. The outreach complemented the WHO campaign “Commit to Quit" and UICC developed videos, infographics, social media banners, social media messages and other materials for UICC members, other NGOs and the public.
Following the launch of the Commonwealth Taskforce on cervical cancer in May 2021, UICC has worked closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat to develop the outline of an advocacy roadmap for 2022 and beyond. Activities will focus on ensuring continued political will as well as building and supporting grassroots action on cervical cancer in Commonwealth countries. This will draw on the experience of the UICC membership to provide information on cervical cancer to policy makers as well as the work being undertaken as part of the SUCCESS project, which is funded by Unitaid, led by Expertise France and delivered in partnership with Jhpiego.
Finally, several publications were finalised over the year with a strong focus on equity, including two publications for World Health Day on 7 April, the theme of which was “Building a fairer, healthier world.” The publication “The role of in vitro diagnostics in early detection and treatment of cancer” was developed in collaboration with the Foundation for Innovative Diagnostics (FIND) and the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) with support from CUBEBIO. Moreover, the publication of “The Social Determinants of Health and Cancer” provides an overview of the key social determinants and how they affect access to cancer services and cancer outcomes. UICC also held Virtual Dialogues on ageing and cancer and released a report on cancer and ageing with the NCD Alliance, International Society for Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) and the European Cancer Patient Coalition (ECPC). To assess progress on the targets included in the World Cancer Declaration, UICC led work on a scoping exercise that resulted in the development of a commentary published in Lancet Oncology on World Cancer Day 2021 entitled “The World Cancer Declaration: A time to consolidate wins and work towards 2025 in the face of a growing global cancer burden.” The article was co-authored with colleagues from IARC, IAEA, WHO, UNODC, C/CAN and the Indian University School of Medicine. It examines progress on each of the World Cancer Declaration targets and highlights advocacy priorities going forward. UICC staff have also co-authored peer reviewed articles in journals on the topics of tobacco control, cancer medicines and national cancer control planning. Finally, two Master courses were held on AMR and on Financing for Universal Health coverage in the context of cancer control. Both courses have received seven CME credits by the Accreditation Council of Oncology in Europe.
“Cervical cancer elimination is a key advocacy priority for UICC and the cancer community. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed our progress towards the elimination targets. We must get back on track to eliminating this disease and put it in the history books. UICC will continue to advocate for cervical cancer elimination at the highest levels of government and will work closely with our members and partners to make this a reality for future generations.”
Dr Miriam Mutebi, UICC Board Member and Chair, Commonwealth Task Force on Cervical Cancer
