WHO tasks countries on cancer, others

By Chukwuma Muanya
THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has tasked countries on the implementation of the global strategy for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
Cancer is one of several non-communicable diseases, which affect millions of people and cause life-long illnesses. WHO and its partners have developed an action plan to prevent these diseases from occurring and to help those already affected to cope.
WHO's Assistant Director-General for non-communicable diseases and mental health department, Dr. Ala Alwan, in a post-World Cancer Day podcast said: "The global strategy for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases has three key priorities. First is to map and monitor non-communicable diseases, which are, in addition to cancer: heart disease, stroke, diabetes and chronic lung disease. Second reduce the exposure to the risk factors and these are tobacco, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and the harmful use of alcohol. Third, is to strengthen health care services for people with cancer and other non-communicable diseases.
"The action plan is being implemented by all countries and so achievements in the prevention and control of cancer and non-communicable diseases will have a major positive impact."
The focus of the World Cancer Day, which was celebrated on February 4, this year, was cancer prevention.
Also, the National Cancer Prevention Programme (NCPP) has said that cancer prevention in Nigeria is the responsibility of all, as everybody is a potential sufferer of the deadly disease.
National Coordinator, Dr. Kin Egwuonwu, at the commemoration of the International Cancer Day in Lagos, said: "This is a time for us all to join hands together to fight the cancer scourge. Other countries of the world have taken pro-active steps to fight the scourge and they have had positive results."
The commemoration, with the theme, Saving Lives Via Screening and Vaccination, also coincided with the inauguration of marketing communications veteran and Chairman of Troyka Holdings, the marketing communications conglomerate, Biodun Shobanjo, as the maiden Ambassador General of the programme for the next one year and the commencement of the Attack Cancer Today (ACT) Initiative.
According to the WHO, each year, over 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer. It says cancer kills more people than Human Immuno-deficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), malaria and tuberculosis (TB) combined but the good news is that approximately two out of five cancers are potentially preventable.
"The death toll is set to rise dramatically in the coming decades. Two-thirds of cancer-related deaths occur in countries where resources available for cancer control and services are limited or non-existent. But the good news is that approximately two out of five cancers are potentially preventable. The World Cancer Declaration has set out targets to stop and reverse current trends."
Chief Executive Officer of the International Union against Cancer, Mr. Cary Adams, said: "One of those targets - target three - is about prevention, the things that we can all do, which will limit the chances of us getting cancer in due course. For example, stop tobacco use, limit alcohol consumption, avoid excessive sun exposure, maintain a healthy weight and of course, protect against cancer causing infections."
Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, Dr Chris Wild, said prevention was critical, especially in regions of the world which have the least capacity to treat this disease as they have the least developed clinical services.
Wild said: "In the example of Africa where we currently have 500,000 new cases of cancer each year, we have fairly precise estimates that in the next 30 to 40 years, there will be three to four times as many cancers in that part of the world. It is very difficult to envisage treatment being able to respond to that challenge, whereas prevention would be a much better approach to reduce the burden of disease."
It has been shown that one-fifth of all cancers worldwide are caused by a chronic infection. Some examples are human papilloma virus - also known as HPV- which causes cancer of the cervix; hepatitis B virus (HBV) which causes liver cancer; and Helicobacter pylori causing stomach cancers.
Prof. Harald zur Hausen, a German virologist researching cancer of the cervix, discovered the role of papilloma viruses, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 2008.
Hausen said: "HPV is clearly a causative agent of cancer of the cervix and in addition, there is good reason to suspect that it also causes parts of all pharyngeal cancer of the throat and in particular of the tonsils and it is also involved in other cancers in particular in anal cancer."

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