SUNS 4306 Wednesday 21 October 1998
HEALTH: WHO LAUNCHES NEW GLOBAL STRATEGY AGAINST CANCER
Geneva, Oct 19 (IPS) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a package of new global strategies to fight cancer Monday, which could significantly reduce the impact of the disease.
The new approach stresses the pooling of private and public sector resources toward prevention, early detection, curative treatments and palliative care.
The number of deaths attributed worldwide to cancer, more than six million in 1997 - or 12 percent of the total number of deaths in the world - is on the rise.
The global frequency of the disease, the number of new cases registered every year, is also growing fast.
A considerable increase in life expectancy combined with major lifestyle changes will lead to a global rise in cancer and other non-transmissible chronic diseases.
WHO estimates some 20 million new cancer patients a year worldwide by the year 2020, more than 70 percent of whom will crop up in developing countries.
But with the new guidelines against cancer it is feasible to reduce the frequency of the disease by five million cases a year by the year 2020, while cutting mortality nearly in half, said WHO Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland.
The WHO plan was the key focus of debate at an international conference on anti-cancer strategies for the new millennium, at the Royal College of Physicians in London.
However, the programme targets will only be met if the public and private sectors pool their resources and experience, said Brundtland in a message to the more than 100 professionals from 26 countries participating in the conference.
The Norwegian doctor and politician, who took up her post at the head of WHO last July, said "it is essential for the private sector to play its role...because the lives of millions of people are in serious
danger."
"We could potentially prevent one quarter of all cancer cases by applying existing knowledge," said P. Sikora, the head of WHO's Cancer Control Programme. And "it is possible to cure one-third of the cases with the use of currently available technology, a proportion we expect to expand to half in the next 25 years."
WHO's new strategies include a campaign against tobacco, a programme aimed at finding cures for cancer, a healthy diet campaign and effective efforts against pain.
Other phases comprise orientations for clinical attention, nurse training, the creation of national cancer networks, clinical evaluations, clinical research and basic research programmes and a plan
for international aid.
Each phase, adapted to the reality of each country, will contribute to the elaboration of effective national anti-cancer programmes.
WHO stresses that a programme for finding cures to cancer is indispensable in order for the public to face the disease without desperation.
The promotion of a healthy diet and encouragement for manufacturers to reduce fats and increase fibre content in food are low-cost actions aimed at the simultaneous prevention of cancer and cardiovascular ailments.
For its 191 member states, WHO will propose a complete training programme, through health ministries and departments, for health professionals and agents involved in the fight against cancer.
The key to success in cancer prevention is precise goals, said Paul Kleihues, director of the International Centre of Cancer Research, a WHO affiliate.
Through comprehension of the origin of the various kinds of cancer in the world, national prevention strategies that are adaptable to the epidemiological and economic situation of the country in question can be drawn up, he added.