4 February 2015 – World Cancer Day is observed every year by the World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Union for International Cancer Control on 4 February. The 2015 campaign aims to take a positive stance through optimistic messaging of what can be done to accelerate the fight against the disease. The tagline of this year’s Day is “Not beyond us”, which highlights the solutions that exist and are accessible to affect and reduce the global cancer burden.
Cancer is already ranked among the top four leading causes of death in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The incidence is expected to almost double in the next two decades, from an estimated 456 000 new cases in 2010 to nearly 861 000 in 2030, the highest relative increase among all WHO regions.
The above estimates are based only on the effect of population growth and ageing, but the additional effect of increasing exposures to cancer risk factors, such as smoking, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, and environmental pollution, will lead to an even bigger rise in the burden of cancer. The prevalence of these risk factors is likely to increase due to socioeconomic and cultural changes, placing significant strains on health programmes and causing substantial human suffering.
The epidemic of lung cancer in men in many countries in the Region is a potent warning of the urgent need for action. The UN Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and the regional framework for action to implement the UN Political Declaration, create opportunities for accelerating action on cancer prevention and control.
Related links
World Cancer Day2015 campaign material
World Cancer Declaration
Union for International Cancer Control
UN Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs)
Regional framework for action
Cancer Country Profile in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2014
4 February 2015 – World Cancer Day is observed every year by the World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Union for International Cancer Control on 4 February. The 2015 campaign aims to take a positive stance through optimistic messaging of what can be done to accelerate the fight against the disease. The tagline of this year’s Day is “Not beyond us”, which highlights the solutions that exist and are accessible to affect and reduce the global cancer burden.
Cancer is already ranked among the top four leading causes of death in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. The incidence is expected to almost double in the next two decades, from an estimated 456 000 new cases in 2010 to nearly 861 000 in 2030, the highest relative increase among all WHO regions.
The above estimates are based only on the effect of population growth and ageing, but the additional effect of increasing exposures to cancer risk factors, such as smoking, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, and environmental pollution, will lead to an even bigger rise in the burden of cancer. The prevalence of these risk factors is likely to increase due to socioeconomic and cultural changes, placing significant strains on health programmes and causing substantial human suffering.
The epidemic of lung cancer in men in many countries in the Region is a potent warning of the urgent need for action. The UN Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and the regional framework for action to implement the UN Political Declaration, create opportunities for accelerating action on cancer prevention and control.
Related links
World Cancer Day2015 campaign material
World Cancer Declaration
Union for International Cancer Control
UN Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs)
Regional framework for action
Cancer Country Profile in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 2014
