SHARJAH: World Cancer Day on Feb.4 raises awareness of millions of people worldwide facing unequal access to cancer detection, treatment and care. With cancer leaders, health professionals and supporters across the world pushing for urgent action to reduce the rate of premature cancer deaths globally, the day is a reminder that access to diagnostic and treatment for all should be a priority.  

Global access to screening, health checks and timely treatment needs to be addressed if the target of a 25 per cent reduction in premature deaths from cancer and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 2025 is possible. However, to deliver on this global commitment, the current inequities in risk factor exposure have to be tackled.

Calling on global partners and stakeholders to take more concerted action, Professor Sanchia Aranda, President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and CEO of Cancer Council Australia, said, “Set in 2011, the World Health Organisation’s target to cut premature NCD deaths by 25 per cent  within 14 years is coming towards its half-way mark. We can meet the target, but more action than ever will be required. Inequality in access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care makes reducing premature deaths from cancer difficult. If we are committed to achieving this goal, we must act quickly and decisively to make access to cancer services more equal all around the world.” 

FoCP history

Sawsan Jafar, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), a Sharjah-based non-profit organisation dedicated to fighting cancer, used the occasion of World Cancer Day to recount the concrete steps various public and private institutions in Sharjah and the UAE have taken to meet this target.

“Since its inception in 1999, FoCP has worked tirelessly to fight cancer and to support individuals diagnosed  and their families. In line with our commitment to the 2011 UN Political Declaration on NCD Prevention and Control; the 2025 global NCD targets, the WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013-2020 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which recommended national responsibilities based on mutually agreed objectives,” said Jafar.

Pink Caravan

“Last year saw us with a packed calendar in our ongoing campaign to raise awareness of the importance of early detection of cancer. The Pink Caravan Ride – a pan-UAE breast cancer awareness initiative – reached out to 4,873 UAE citizens and residents across the seven emirates during its week-long tour in March, the highest number of people since the campaign started seven years ago.

“Also, taking place for the first time in the MENASEA region, was the ‘UAE Relay for Life’ 24-hour walkathon, which we conducted in collaboration with the American Cancer Society. The activity attracted hundreds of walkers to raise money for the fight, to show support for those living with the disease and to honour those who are no longer with us,” she added.