The crucial role of international collaboration and funding to address cancer control around the world

UICC was established in 1933 with the aim of fostering global collaboration and knowledge sharing to enhance cancer control efforts worldwide. That approach has significantly contributed to real progress in cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and care over the past 92 years. 

Working with members in more than 170 countries and territories, as well as partners and global organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), UICC continues to drive international collaboration to reduce cancer incidence and save more lives.

Addressing the growing cancer burden requires continued investment in research and the application of what we know works to prevent, detect early, and successfully treat cancers around the world.

By cutting back on the funding of research, withdrawing from international collaboration, and reducing the much-needed funding of major international organisations, more people will be at risk of developing a cancer and have less chance of surviving it. Worryingly, we risk reversing the great progress we have witnessed in the last decades, and more lives will be put at risk around the world.

UICC calls on those countries which have led in cancer research, funded international organisations committed to cancer control, and invested in health systems in LMICs, to reflect on the long-term impact that reducing their commitments will have on our collective ability to address cancer around the world.

Beating cancer demands strong, sustained collaboration – and a shared belief that no one should die from a preventable cancer, and that everyone should have access to the treatment and care they need.