Each year, nearly 3 million women are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer globally. While high-income countries have made significant progress to effectively prevent cervical cancer and control breast cancer, nearly 80% of deaths from these two cancers are in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This profound inequality in a woman’s likelihood of surviving breast or cervical cancer is a threat to sustainable development and to the health and well-being of women, their families and their communities.
Targeted, strategic action can save lives. Progress in cancer survival seen in high-income countries has been achieved because of increased investments in cancer programmes and innovation yielding earlier diagnosis and improved treatment quality. Yet, these improvements have not been translated globally or implemented sustainably, leaving many women behind.
“We must commit to do more for women’s cancers – to invest in what works and to accelerate progress through innovation,” said Dr Mikkelsen, Director of the Department of Non-communicable Diseases. “There is a global convergence around women’s cancers with new partners, new Initiatives and strengthened government commitments. By acting now with urgency and solidarity, we can save millions of women’s lives over the next decade.”
Innovation to Meet Country Needs
Innovation provides a unique opportunity to respond to unmet public health needs in cancer by creating new ways of thinking and working, focusing on the needs of vulnerable populations. WHO is pleased to work with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) who are launching this new Call for Innovation on Women’s Cancer. Call for Innovation Saving Women's Lives from Cancer
Launched for the second time in 2021, the IsDB-IAEA Call is continuation of an existing partnership to improve cancer control, diagnostic and prevention in IsDB Member Countries (MCs), many of which are LMICs.
Dr Hayat Sindi, Senior Advisor to IsDB President on Science, technology and innovation (STI), and Supervisor of Communities Outreach Programme, observe that, “the IsDB-IAEA initiative shows IsDB’s support towards innovators to tap into the potential of STI, and deliver tangible results in addressing cancer prevention, screening, diagnostics, and treatment services and infrastructure.”.
“The key strategic partnership priority of the Cancer Call falls in line with IsDB President HE Dr Bandar Hajjar’s P5P Strategy: Public & Private sectors, Philanthropy, People and Partnerships,” she added.
The Call for Innovations focuses on two thematic areas that are established public health priorities to improve breast and cervical cancer control.
Thematic Area 1: Development of health promotion programmes to increase health literacy, community engagement and youth participation through innovative use of technology (such as mHealth); focusing on early detection, and national cancer prevention programmes including sustainable and effective HPV vaccination.
Thematic Area 2: Timely cancer diagnosis - innovative tools or approaches to minimise the diagnostic interval (time from presentation to confirmation of cancer).
WHO Cancer Initiatives
In response to the request by governments to prioritize women’s and children’s cancer, WHO has three global cancer initiatives in cervix, breast and childhood cancers, working alongside strategic partners across sectors. The thematic areas in this Second Call for Innovation align with the pillars of the WHO cancer initiatives, promoting joint action among partners and within countries.
In 2018, the Director-General of WHO called for the Elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem. Governments have now committed to the Global Action Plan with set targets to reach by 2030. This Initiative has now been complemented by the recently launched the Global Breast Cancer Initiative which aims to reduce age-standardized mortality rate by 2.5% per year, thereby saving 2.5 million lives by 2040.
Coordinated action today will save lives. The WHO Initiatives and the IsDB-IAEA Call for Innovation provide a unique opportunity to advance women’s health, to strengthen health systems and to accelerate progress for the decades ahead.