The Commitments of the Declaration

• Promote, establish or support and strengthen, by 2013, multisectoral national policies and plans for the prevention and control of NCDs
• Strengthen information systems for health planning and management and the development of population based national registries and surveys
• Reduce individuals' exposure to NCD risk factors through international agreements, legal and regulatory measures
• Improve access to palliative care
• Increase access to affordable, safe, effective and quality medicines and technology
• Build further capacity in the workforce skilled to prevent and manage NCDs

Update from the September, 2011 UN Summmit on Non-Communicable Diseases

UICC CEO Cary Adams announced that the historic UN Summit on Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has officially came to an end on September 21, 2011 in New York. Bringing together over 30 Heads of State, Ministers of Health and other policy makers, the Summit resulted in the adoption of a Political Declaration on NCDs - only the second of its kind to address a health issue on a global scale. The event also received widespread media attention, helping to put cancer firmly on the global agenda.

Together with the NCD Alliance, UICC has been campaigning for a UN Summit to address cancer and the other NCDs since 2009, and UICC was delighted that the Summit has resulted in commitments that will help reduce the global cancer burden.

UICC strongly supports the call for national plans for the prevention and control of NCDs in the Political Declaration, and welcomes cancer specific commitments to:

• Give greater priority to early detection, screening and diagnosis of NCDs including cancer screening programmes (particularly breast and cervical cancer);
• Increase access to Hepatitis B and HPV vaccines as part of national immunisation programmes to prevent infection-related cancers.

However, there remain areas where commitments fall short of expectations. The Declaration lacks specific targets including no overall goal of reducing preventable deaths. More work is now needed to convince governments to commit to reduce avoidable deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025 - a target WHO believes is achievable.

We strongly encourage you to download UICC's full position statement on the Political Declaration on NCDs and accompanying press release and circulate these documents among your own networks and media contacts and take advantage of this historic occasion.

UICC is strongly committed to working with Governments, WHO, UN Agencies, civil society and other stakeholders to implement the Declaration's commitments. UICC will begin the next phase of its advocacy campaign in November at the World Cancer Leaders' Summit in Dublin, where a response to the UN Summit will be outlined in detail.

UICC President, Dr Eduardo Cazap also had the privilege of presenting more than 500,000 World Cancer Declaration signatures, on behalf of individuals and associations, to the head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Margaret Chan. The poster represented a strong message from the cancer community for action and change!

ONS and UICC would like to thank all our members for their incredible efforts to collect signatures.

What is the World Cancer Declaration?

It is a tool to help bring the growing cancer crisis to the attention of government leaders and health policymakers in order to significantly reduce the global cancer burden by 2020.

It represents a consensus between government officials, public health experts and cancer advocates from around the world who are committed to eliminating cancer as a life-threatening disease for future generations.

We have made many extraordinary strides in research, advocacy, and treatment for cancer, and more people than ever are living with cancer. Incidence rates in the United States are on the decline in some areas such as prostate, lung, oral cavity, brain/nervous system, stomach, colorectum, and breast cancer. However, myeloma, leukemia, melanoma, and cancer of the liver, kidney, and esophagus have shown an increase in incidence the most recent periods. So much more work must be done.

The Declaration is a list of 11 priority actions to reduce the global cancer burden and pledge support for the achievement of this actions. Government, healthcare, donors, development agencies, professional organizations, and private and civil groups are being asked to take steps to slow and ultimately reverse cancer death rates.

Through the targets outline in the World Cancer Declaration our aim by 2020 is to have:

• effective cancer control programs
• reduced risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption and obesity 
• universal vaccination programs
• a better informed public
• improved diagnosis methods
• universally available pain control
• improved training for medical staff
• better survival rates for cancer patients

To reach these targets we will take action to:

• place cancer on the political agenda
• improve cancer prevention and early detection
• enhance access to and treatment for cancer patients