Governments need to fulfil their commitments to Universal Health Coverage

In his closing speech, UICC’s CEO Dr Cary Adams urged the participants from 82 countries to drive action so that Universal Health Coverage is achieved in every country. Participants included Ministers of Health, First Ladies, city and industry leaders, senior executives and other influential players from the cancer, health and development community.

“We need to see governments fulfilling the commitments they have already made by adopting the Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in New York on 23 September. We need strong health systems that can deliver the services that people need and we need investments by all stakeholders. I wholeheartedly believe, that we, the cancer community, have the expertise, passion and commitment to make UHC a reality and ensure that every country steps up so that no cancer patient is left behind."
Dr Cary Adams, CEO, UICC.

The global health leaders were welcomed on 16 October 2019 by the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, H.E. Berdibek Saparbayev (main image) and UICC’s President, H.R.H. Princess Dina Mired.

”Governments around the world have recognised how important it is to deliver UHC, including accelerating efforts to tackle cancer. But while the recent adoption of the Political Declaration on UHC in New York was a very important step, it is only the beginning of a much longer journey. In many countries people have lost trust in their health systems. Regaining their trust and investing better and smarter is key to making progress."
H.R.H. Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, President of UICC.

A number of workshops and panel discussions were held throughout the summit, which focused on screening and early detection, access to medicines and data. Delegates also had the opportunity to exchange views and best practices on how all sectors can work in partnerships to design and deliver UHC.

Showing the evidence and data supporting the call for action on cancer in UHC, the all-new third edition of The Cancer Atlas by the American Cancer Society, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and UICC was also launched at this year’s gathering. The Atlas offers a comprehensive global overview of cancer around the globe, and concludes that progress in the fight against cancer is not only possible, but achievable. Under the theme “Access Creates Progress”, this current edition draws attention to the means of tackling the cancer burden through access to information and services. The Cancer Atlas will, once again, be circulated widely with the aim to inspire all those who want to see improvements in cancer control.

The next World Cancer Leaders’ Summit will take place in conjunction with the 2020 World Cancer Congress in Muscat, Oman.

For reference:
The World Cancer Leaders’ Summit (WCLS) is a major annual high-level policy meeting dedicated exclusively to furthering global cancer control. The event brings together key decision makers from around the world and encourages timely debate on emerging issues related to cancer. It provides an important platform to secure a coordinated, multileveled global response to address the spiralling cancer epidemic, and takes place in different locations, worldwide, each year. UICC’s summit partners are the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).