Baghdad, 8 May 2016 – From 19 to 21 April 2016, the Iraqi Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the WHO Iraq office, organized a workshop and field visits in Erbil to examine the situation of national cancer registration in Iraq, including current activities, achievement and challenges. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is providing support to WHO in this area.
“About one third of cancers can be prevented, while others are curable if diagnosed and treated early. Even when cancer is advanced, patients should benefit from palliative care,”said Iraqi Minister of Higher Education Dr Omran Basim Twainy. He added, “We need to work and do more to end the many tragedies that cancer inflicts”.
All participants strongly recommended that the Iraqi Cancer Board effectively improve data processing activities by shifting from CanReg4 to CanReg5, with adequate training of staff in charge of data acquisition and management both at the central office and the governorate level.
CanReg5 is an open source tool to input, store, check and analyse cancer registry data. The main improvements over the previous version are the new database engine, the improved multi-user capacity and that the development is managed as an open source project.
WHO Representative in Iraq Altaf Musani encouraged people to avoid unhealthy diets, smoking and sedentary lifestyles as an essential and cost-effective way of reducing the number of cases of the disease. He said that in Iraq due to limited resources of health services that the focus was on prevention and awareness to address cancer.
According to WHO, cancer is responsible for almost 13% of deaths worldwide. Intensive awareness campaigns and specialized screening centres would help to reduce fear, fight stigma and save lives.
Related links
International Agency for Research on Cancer
International Association of Cancer Registries
Further information
For more information please contact:
Ms Rosane Lopes
Communications Officer
World Health Organization
Iraq Country Office
+964 7809 288 614
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dr Thamer Alhilfi
Noncommunicalke Diseases Technical Officer
World Health Organization
Iraq Country Office
+964 7800 397 4515
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ms Ajyal Sultany
Communications Officer
World Health Organization
Iraq Country Office
+964 7510 101 469
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Baghdad, 8 May 2016 – From 19 to 21 April 2016, the Iraqi Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the WHO Iraq office, organized a workshop and field visits in Erbil to examine the situation of national cancer registration in Iraq, including current activities, achievement and challenges. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is providing support to WHO in this area.
“About one third of cancers can be prevented, while others are curable if diagnosed and treated early. Even when cancer is advanced, patients should benefit from palliative care,”said Iraqi Minister of Higher Education Dr Omran Basim Twainy. He added, “We need to work and do more to end the many tragedies that cancer inflicts”.
All participants strongly recommended that the Iraqi Cancer Board effectively improve data processing activities by shifting from CanReg4 to CanReg5, with adequate training of staff in charge of data acquisition and management both at the central office and the governorate level.
CanReg5 is an open source tool to input, store, check and analyse cancer registry data. The main improvements over the previous version are the new database engine, the improved multi-user capacity and that the development is managed as an open source project.
WHO Representative in Iraq Altaf Musani encouraged people to avoid unhealthy diets, smoking and sedentary lifestyles as an essential and cost-effective way of reducing the number of cases of the disease. He said that in Iraq due to limited resources of health services that the focus was on prevention and awareness to address cancer.
According to WHO, cancer is responsible for almost 13% of deaths worldwide. Intensive awareness campaigns and specialized screening centres would help to reduce fear, fight stigma and save lives.
Related links
International Agency for Research on Cancer
International Association of Cancer Registries
Further information
For more information please contact:
Ms Rosane Lopes
Communications Officer
World Health Organization
Iraq Country Office
+964 7809 288 614
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Dr Thamer Alhilfi
Noncommunicalke Diseases Technical Officer
World Health Organization
Iraq Country Office
+964 7800 397 4515
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ms Ajyal Sultany
Communications Officer
World Health Organization
Iraq Country Office
+964 7510 101 469
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
