Season's Greetings 2025 from UICC

Cary Adams, CEO of UICC, offers a look back at 2025 and ahead to 2026, with best wishes to members, partners, and the wider cancer community.

As 2025 comes to a close, I would like to express my deepest thanks to UICC’s members, partners, and the wider cancer community for your dedication and tireless work. Together, we have continued to help shape better care for people facing cancer and drive progress where it’s needed most.

This beginning of the year was marked by a new three-year World Cancer Day campaign, United by Unique, reminding us that every individual’s experience with cancer is different and that our systems must reflect that with a more people-centred approach to cancer care. The campaign continued to expand the success of previous editions in terms of activities, social media engagement, media coverage, and government announcements and actions.

We also hosted the first Cancer Planners Forum in Geneva, creating space for national leaders to exchange insights on developing and implementing effective, financed national cancer plans.

UICC played a key role with members and partners in the adoption of a lung health resolution at the World Health Assembly in May, through our work with the Lung Cancer Collaboration – an important step in developing an integrated approach that will help tackle the leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality worldwide

In November, the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Melbourne brought fresh energy to global commitments, with the launch of the new World Cancer Declaration 2025-2035. This document, drafted with input from UICC members, sets out an ambitious vision for the next decade, aligning global advocacy efforts and providing a clear framework for action.

Members are at the heart of and drive UICC’s work. In 2025, we strengthened and expanded our services in support of their goals and needs – from tailored learning opportunities and programmes to advocacy resources and grants to amplify their impact at national and global levels. By supporting participation at in-person events via scholarships and UICC Connect, we also continue to support members to learn from each other and share perspectives. UICC Connect has continued to grow in 2025, now hosting over 1,500 individuals.

Next year we’ll continue to build on this momentum, as we fully implement our new Business Plan 2026–2028 with six focus areas: access to medicines, stronger health systems, lung and women’s cancers, and supporting our members. As always, we’ll keep championing their priorities and working with all of you to ensure cancer stays high on the global health and development agenda.

On behalf of UICC, I wish everyone a peaceful holiday season and a healthy, hopeful start to the new year.