Closing UICC's 90-year anniversary

UICC celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2023 with a number of initiatives and events marking the occasion, with a renewed commitment to support its members and the cancer community in making a real difference in cancer control around the world.

The year started with another successful edition of UICC's World Cancer Day, which continued its focus on equity with the second year of the ‘Close the Care Gap’ campaign. This global initiative aimed at reducing disparities in cancer care and outcomes by raising awareness and mobilising action, to which UICC has been dedicated throughout its history​​​​.

In 2024 we will use World Cancer Day to call for action from every government to put in place policies that bridge existing care gaps giving all cancer patients access to the medicines and treatment they need.

UICC's 90th anniversary was also the occasion to implement some significant changes to our brand identity and how we will support our members in the future.

In September, we unveiled a new visual identity, reflecting UICC’s 90-year journey and dedication to its mission to reduce the burden of cancer around the world, promote greater equity and ensure that cancer remains a priority on the global health agenda. The updated logo, a modern twist with intertwined Cs, a subtle speech bubble representing the voice of the community and the bold 'UICC' in white, captures the essence of UICC as a worldwide network of cancer organisations.

We also introduced UICC Connect, a platform aimed at facilitating exchange among its members and partners about cancer control. We intend to grow this platform in 2024, giving participants the ability to interact securely on subjects and issues important to them.

We used social media extensively to celebrate UICC’s 90 years and updated the website with content including testimonies from cancer professionals discussing the people who inspired them to work in the field, a podcast on the history of cancer, and a post by Dr Tedro Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, on our longstanding and productive partnership.

Closing this year, we published a report gathering the reflections of current and past UICC Presidents on the progress they have seen in cancer control in the last 90 years.

As global experts gathered to tackle cancer care challenges at the World Cancer Leaders' Summit 2023 in Long Beach, CA, we used the occasion to present two 90th-anniversary Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Control Awards: Dr Freddie Bray, who leads the Cancer Surveillance Section of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), received the award in the Civil Society category, while the Liga Contra el Cancer, Peru, received the award in the Full member category, for its work on cancer prevention, particularly among economically disadvantaged populations.

Whilst we were intent on marking 90 years of history, we were also given the opportunity to celebrate the work of the UICC team, its members and partners in 2023. 

UICC was named the ‘International Association of the Year’ at the Association Excellence Awards 2023, recognised for our innovative coalition approach, leadership and significant contributions in enhancing cancer medicine availability in low- and lower-middle-income countries. On a personal note, I was honoured to receive the prestigious International Healthcare Leadership Award from the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) late in the year.

Additionally, UICC's ‘Let's Talk Cancer’ podcast series, launched in 2022, won the Digital Communication Award (DCA) for its insightful discussions on critical cancer issues. If you have not listened to any of the podcasts yet, I do encourage you to do so. They are truly interesting and enjoyable. Our ‘History of Cancer’ video received 2nd place in the same DCA awards, while our website uicc.org won 2nd place in the ‘Health’ category at the Splash Awards 2023.

As we close this 90th year of UICC’s existence in challenging circumstances for many organisations around the world, I wish to thank all our members and partners as well as the wider cancer community for their engagement and continued support in 2023. Without them, UICC could not carry out its mission effectively – and we look forward to further successful collaborations in 2024.

With best wishes for the new year!