UICC reinforces equity in cancer control through Scholarships

From left to right: Kimberly Kapigeno, Papua New Guinea Cancer Foundation,  Malama Tafuna’I, Samoa cancer Society, Mackenzie Sitobata, Vanuatu Family Health Association, Belinda Chan, Fiji Cancer Society and Krystal Millar from Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT),Australia at the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Melbourne, Australia 

UICC Scholarships provide vital financial support for individuals from UICC member organisations in lower-resource settings to attend key international gatherings, such as the World Cancer Congress (WCC), World Cancer Leaders’ Summit (WCLS), WHO Regional Committee meetings. Scholarships offer contributions towards travel, accommodation, visa costs, and daily expenses. Recipients also benefit from tailored opportunities for networking and knowledge sharing at these events.

“UICC Scholarships are a practical outworking of UICC’s commitment to equity. We know just how critical these funds are to enable many UICC members to benefit from these invaluable learning and networking opportunities, and for their experiences to be represented in our collective discussions to advance cancer control. Knowing many share our commitment to equity, we hope we will be able to offer many more scholarships in the years to come.”
– Kirstie Graham, Director of Capacity Building, UICC

To be eligible to apply for a UICC Scholarship, candidates must work at a UICC member organisation based in a low-and-middle income country and have an active role in the event, for example a session proposal or an accepted abstract.

Scholarships help ensure greater representation of civil society organisations, people with lived experience, and traditionally marginalised groups, such as indigenous populations, from a more diverse range of countries, regions, sectors, and income levels. This not only enables these individuals to participate, but ensures their voices contribute to discussions on cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and care.

“I've gained invaluable insights that will reshape our approach to cancer advocacy in Papua New Guinea (PNG). I'm returning home with a renewed commitment to strengthen our advocacy strategies, build robust partnerships across community, government, and private sectors, and contribute to improve health policies focused on early detection, screening, vaccination, and treatment access for women and girls in PNG.”
– Kimberly Kapigeno, Executive Manager, Papua New Guinea Cancer Foundation (attended the Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Forum in Bali, 17-19 June 2025)

Building on its long-standing commitment to provide opportunities for UICC members to participate in relevant global meetings, UICC Scholarships were launched in 2024, and since, have supported 182 individuals from 78 countries to participate in 12 events.

In 2025, UICC awarded 86 scholarships to participants attending eight events including the inaugural Cancer Planners’ Forum, held in Geneva, the held in Melbourne, Australia, the African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) Conference 2025 in Hammamet, Tunisia and the WHO Regional Committee meetings in Lusaka, Zambia; Cairo, Egypt and Nadi, Fiji.

The scholarships are also crucial in supporting the development of networks and collaborations. During 2025, representatives from UICC member organisations across the Pacific islands have benefitted from UICC Scholarships to participate in key regional and thematic events, enabling them to benefit from the unique events, but importantly to build and strengthen their individual networks, and across the Pacific islands. This included individuals from Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea.  

“Meeting other cancer organisations in the Pacific helped me understand a bit what each of us are navigating in our own countries and see similarities and differences and how we can support each other. As a group we took the opportunity to network with regional entities that can potentially help us progress issues of concern to us.”
– Malama Tafuna’i, Samoa Cancer Society (attended WHO Western Pacific 76th Regional Committee Meeting, Nadi, Fiji, 20-24 October 2025)

The connections made have sparked opportunities for collaboration, including discussions for a Pacific-wide platform to strengthen cancer control efforts, that could help to elevate and address cancer control as a regional priority.

“Attending Summit broadened my horizons, reminding me that cancer care must be equitable across all borders. It deepened my commitment to ensuring that every person, regardless of geography or circumstance, receives dignified and accessible care.”
– Belinda Chan, Fiji Cancer Society (attended the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit, Melbourne, Australia, 18-20 November 2025)

Looking ahead at 2026, UICC will be supporting participation at several events, including the next World Cancer Congress to be held in Hong Kong from 24-26 September, for which the call for abstracts has just opened.

UICC welcome supports from its network to maximise the number of scholarships available and ensure events are inclusive and representative of the breadth and diversity of the cancer community.

For more information on supporting or applying for a scholarship

Or contact scholarships@uicc.org.