Vision for a Cancer-Free World: the World Cancer Declaration

February 4 marks World Cancer Day

Led by the Union for International Cancer Control and its partner organizations, the World Cancer Day campaign aims to raise awareness about a disease that causes millions of deaths every year, and to gather at least 1 million people in support of a cancer-free world and the World Cancer Declaration. This support will be presented to international leaders at the first United Nations Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases in September 2011.

The World Cancer Declaration is a call to communities around the world to take immediate action to reduce the global cancer burden by committing to 11 Declaration targets and providing the resources and political support to achieve them by 2020.  These 11 Declaration targets include:

1)  Sustainable delivery systems will be in place to ensure that effective cancer control programs are available in all countries;

2) The measurement of the global cancer burden and the impact of cancer control interventions will have improved significantly;

3)  Global tobacco consumption, obesity and alcohol intake levels will have fallen significantly;

4)  Populations in the areas affected by HPV and HBV will be covered by universal vaccination programs;

5)  Public attitudes towards cancer will improve and damaging myths and misconceptions about the disease will be dispelled;

6)  Many more cancers will be diagnosed when still localized through the provision of screening and early detection programs and high levels of public and professional awareness about important cancer warning signs;

7)  Access to accurate cancer diagnosis, appropriate cancer treatments, supportive care, rehabilitation services and palliative care will have improved for all patients worldwide;

8)  Effective pain control measures will be available universally to all cancer patients in pain;

9)  The number of training opportunities available for health professionals in different aspects of cancer control will have improved significantly;

10)  Emigration of health workers with specialist training in cancer control will have reduced dramatically; and

11)  There will be major improvements in cancer survival rates in all countries.

 

To learn more about World Cancer Day and to sign the World Cancer Declaration, visit www.uicc.org/declaration or www.worldcancerday.org .  To learn more about the Union for International Cancer Control, visit www.uicc.org.