World Cancer Day: WHO Urges Countries to Tackle Gaps in Cancer Care

Rabat – The World Health Organization (WHO) called for reducing inequalities in receiving cancer treatment while prioritizing measures to reduce risk, detect, and diagnose early and care for people suffering from the disease.

With February 4 being the international day to raise awareness about cancer, one of the most common deadly diseases, the WHO urged countries to address gaps in cancer care.

The international health organization highlighted that over 70% of global cancer deaths are expected to occur in low- and middle-income countries by 2040.

Treatment remains inaccessible in several countries. The WHO estimates that half of people diagnosed with cancer might require radiotherapy as part of their care, “yet many countries do not have a single radiotherapy machine.”

An acute disparity appears in Africa where nearly 70% of countries reported that radiotherapy is generally not available to their citizens.

Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director at WHO South-East Asia Region, underlined that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the delivery of cancer care services, including palliative care.

“This further exposed the vulnerabilities of people with cancers and increased the risk of severe disease and death. We urgently need to address these gaps,” Khetrapal Singh noted.

Last year, 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer worldwide and 10 million died, the UN agency believes that the number will further increase in the decades ahead.

Meanwhile, the region of South-East Asia reported approximately 2.2 million new cases and 1.4 million cancer-related deaths in the same year, representing more than 1 in 10 deaths in the region, the WHO said in a press release.

“Among cancer deaths, lung cancer accounted for 10.6% deaths, breast cancer 9.4%, cervical cancer 8%, liver 6.6% and lip, oral cavity cancer 6.4% deaths,” it added.

The World Health Assembly has passed a resolution that makes the elimination of cervical cancer a public health priority, while urging all countries to base their national response on a comprehensive strategy to guide cancer prevention and control activities.

“We must scale up efforts to save lives and improve the quality of life of people living with cancer,” Doctor Khetrapal Singh concluded.