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WHO steps up drive against cancer in South-East Asia
WHO SEARO regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh: (searo
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WHO SEARO regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh: (searo.who.int/en/) (searo.who.int)
WHO SEARO regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh: (searo.who.int/en/)
Health ministers from 11 World Health Organization (WHO) South-East Asia Region member countries have agreed to bolster cancer prevention and control programs, in light of the region's annual 1.1 million deaths from cancer and 1.7 million new cancer cases.
'We need to ensure comprehensive community cancer, including promotion, prevention of modifiable risk factors, early detection and treatment and the availability of affordable diagnostics, medical products and palliative care,' said WHO South-East Asia regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh.
She was speaking during the adoption of a resolution on cancer prevention and control at the WHO Regional Committee meeting in Dili, Timor Leste, which ended on Friday.
Khetrapal Singh said many cancer cases were preventable. 'They can be detected early and treated to improve survival rates and the quality of life of the affected persons,' she said.
The resolution called for implementing multisectoral action on primary prevention of cancer risk factors. These include tobacco and alcohol use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, infections causing cancers, behavioral risk factors and exposure to environmental risk factors. The resolution also called for increasing public awareness to reduce modifiable risk factors and strengthening community-based interventions.
Apart from cancer control and prevention programs, the five-day WHO Regional Committee meeting adopted five further resolutions on tobacco control, strengthening preparedness to respond to emergencies and outbreaks, antimicrobial resistance, strengthening community based health services and improving patient safety for sustainable universal health coverage (UHC). (ebf)
