Our greatest strength lies in the relationships we build

In recent months, it has often felt as though each new day has brought another political announcement that has reshaped the world around us. More often than not, many of us have held our breath as world leaders have made decisions on issues with far-reaching consequences for us all. 

Yet while the world's attention has been focused on these unfolding crises, millions of people, families, and communities continue to face another reality every single day. For them, a cancer diagnosis remains a defining crisis, regardless of the headlines dominating the global news cycle. Together, these individual experiences make up a growing global challenge: the burden of cancer.

By 2050, the number of new cancer cases is expected to reach 34 million, a 67% increase compared with 2024, while cancer deaths are projected to rise to 17.5 million, an increase of nearly 80% over the 9.8 million cases reported in 2024.

At the same time, cancer research is moving at an unprecedented pace. New technologies and innovations are creating possibilities that only a few years ago felt out of reach. As the recent ASCO Annual Meeting reminded us, breakthroughs we can’t even imagine today are waiting just around the corner.

It is against this backdrop that UICC has spent the past several months developing its new ten-year strategy for 2026–2036. The strategy is designed to support the goals set out in the World Cancer Declaration and to help ensure that more people, regardless of where they live, have access to prevention, early detection, treatment, and support.

The strategy has been developed in close dialogue with UICC members, and to me, one insight emerged more clearly than any other, which is that our greatest strength lies in the relations we are able to build. 

UICC is a global community of organisations working from the local to the international levels. It unites patient groups, research centres, cancer societies, professional associations, and private sector partners. Together, we represent experiences, expertise, and perspectives that no single actor can bring together alone.

And we matter. When the political horizon is shaped by short-term priorities, there is a need for actors who can hold on to a long-term perspective and drive progress even as the world around us changes. 

Civil society has a unique ability to adapt when circumstances shift. Organisations working close to people and patients can often respond quickly, identify emerging needs, and provide support even when other parts of the system are affected by political or economic change. At a time when public institutions and international organisations are facing financial constraints or reduced capacity to act, strong partnerships become even more important to ensure continuity and sustain progress.

In the context of a growing cancer burden and persistent inequities, UICC’s 2026–2036 strategy sets out how UICC will harness the strength of its global network. Rather than broadening its mandate, UICC will focus on the areas where, together with our members and partners, we can create the greatest value by convening stakeholders, fostering collaboration, and enabling efforts that achieve greater impact through collective action. We are also strengthening the focus on implementation, recognising that closing the gap between ambition and reality remains one of the greatest challenges in cancer control – a central theme at this year’s Cancer Planners Forum. 

Together, we can build the resilience, capacity for innovation and endurance needed to keep pace in the fight against cancer. Along with the UICC Board and staff, I look forward to accompanying and supporting you in your work, and the upcoming World Cancer Congress in Hong Kong in September!