Launch of new World Cancer Declaration at the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Cape Town, South Africa.

Originally launched in 2006, the World Cancer Declaration (the Declaration) has helped to bring the growing cancer crisis to the attention of government leaders and health policy-makers, and to drive new government commitments in the global fight against cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).

In light of groundbreaking developments in the fight against NCDs, and with the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) fast approaching, UICC saw a growing need to more closely align the Declaration with the emerging global NCD framework and the dialogue on the post-2015 development agenda. UICC believes that the updated Declaration will resonate more widely and allow the cancer community to reach out to non-traditional partners in the development, disability, education, employment and many other sectors for innovative partnership.

More specifically, UICC encourages the World Cancer Declaration to be used:

• To urge governments to implement policies and programmes that the cancer community knows will be successful if they are adequately resourced and embedded within national cancer and NCD plans.
• To reach out beyond health ministries to gain the political backing of all sectors of government – using the Declaration together with resource-appropriate and culturally relevant examples of successful implementation of policies outside of health is critical to ensuring a whole-of-government response to the cancer crisis.
• To continue pressing for cancer and other NCDs to be embedded within the next generation of internationally agreed development goals.
• UICC’s updated Advocacy Toolkit will include detailed and practical guidance for UICC members on how the Declaration can be used to frame and strengthen their advocacy and programmatic efforts. 

For more information and to read the Declaration please click here.