UICC members welcome the new President, President-elect and Board of Directors for 2022 to 2024

The outgoing president, Prof. Anil D’Cruz, chaired the event, which was held virtually, allowing more members around the world to take part in essential governance decisions for UICC. It included presentations by Dr Cary Adams, CEO of UICC, and Prof. Jeff Dunn AO, incoming President of UICC for the period 2022-2024.

Full members began casting their votes for President-elect and new Board Members via a dedicated link as early as midnight Geneva time on 11 October (2am GMT). The General Assembly started at 2pm (12pm GMT).

During the General Assembly, members received updates and were provided with input on UICC’s work and complete constitutional duties, including the approval of the 2020 General Assembly minutes and the 2020-2021 financial accounts. They also discharged the CEO and the 2020-2022 Board of Directors of their responsibilities.

Prof. Anil D’Cruz gave an overview of UICC’s activities in the past two years, highlighting the 2020 and 2021 Annual Reports, the launch of the new World Cancer Day 2022-2024 campaign theme on equity, “Close the care gap”, the success of the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit, held virtually due to the pandemic, and the upcoming World Cancer Congress in Geneva.

He emphasised the achievements made by UICC and its members during his unique tenure marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. He warmly thanked the Board of Directors and the CEO for their unwavering support and valuable input, and pledged his support to his successor, Prof. Jeff Dunn. 

Prof. Dunn reflected on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on cancer organisations around the world and how this emphasised the need to engage with governments to ensure that cancer care remains a top priority.

"Much of the UICC success sits with our members who have struggled and prevailed during the pandemic. Let’s make sure that we get even closer to our members so that globally we can make a difference. Let’s listen to the patient voice. Every year 20 million newly diagnosed join that group and each and everyone of them is important to us. And let’s make sure that the gaps in care that we see within and between countries are addressed. Thank you for letting me serve as your President. I embark on this journey with humility and confidence."
– Prof. Jeff Dunn AO, President of UICC, 2022-2024

Dr Adams expressed his deepest gratitude and thanks to the Members of the Board and our President, Prof. Anil D’Cruz, for steering the organisation with grace and determination through two years of remote leadership, and capitalising on the opportunities that the pandemic also revealed.

HRH Princess Dina Mired, Immediate Past President of UICC and member of the Nominating Committee gave an overview of the election process and explained that all candidates had been reviewed objectively.

"As you can see, we have an outstanding group of people to choose from and I am proud that UICC has attracted such expertise, knowledge and experience." - HRH Princess Dina Mired, Immediate Past President of UICC

Election results

President-elect

Ulrika Årehed Kågström was nominated as President-elect and will assume the presidency of UICC in October 2024 at the next General Assembly, succeeding Prof. Dunn.

Ms Kågström has served as Secretary General of Cancerfonden (Swedish Cancer Society) since 2016. Previously, she worked in the humanitarian sector as Secretary General of the Swedish Red Cross. She also has extensive experience in governance as chair and member of boards such as the Nordic Cancer Union. 

She has served on the UICC Board of Directors since 2018, and for the past two years as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance, Risk and Audit Committee. She has chaired the Knowledge, Advocacy and Policy Committee and has been or is a member of the AMR task force, the ATOM Coalition task force,  the Strategy Review Task Force, the Governance Committee, the World Cancer Congress Congress and World Cancer Leaders' Summit Committee, the KAP Committee and the Advisory Board of the Solidarity Fund for Ukraine.

"I am deeply humbled by the confidence you have put in me as the next President-elect of the UICC. We have so much to be proud of, so many amazing achievements to look back on. However, my many conversations with you as members tell me that more work needs to be done to close the care gap. And we must ensure that governments are prepared for the increasing cancer burden and are committed to invest in cancer control. You have filled me with so much inspiration and determination, and I am certain that we can achieve anything together."
– Ulrika Årehed Kågström, President-elect of UICC 2022-2024

Board of Directors

UICC’s Board of Directors for 2022-2024 was also elected during the online voting. Elected Board Members hail from UICC member organisations representing Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Nigeria, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, USA.

Board of Directors 2022-2024

• Matti Aapro, Immediate Past-President, European Cancer Organisation, Switzerland
• Stella Aguinaga Bialous, Professor, University of California, San Francisco, USA
• Eric Bouffet, Director of the Paediatric Neuro-Oncology Program, International Society of Paediatric Oncology and the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (Canada)
• Maira Caleffi, Volunteer President FEMAMA (Federação Brasileira de Instituições Filantrópicas de Apoio à Saúde da Mama), Brazil
• Hana Chaar Choueib, General Manager Children's Cancer Center of Lebanon (CCCL)
• Cristiana Fonseca, Health Education Coordinator, Portuguese League Against Cancer, Northern Branch
• Gilberto Lopes, Professor of Clinical Medicine, Associate Director for the Cancer Center, Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship Director, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami (USA)
• Kenji López Cuevas, Lawyer; Founder and President, Cancer Warriors of Mexico
• Asem Mansour, Chief Executive Officer/Director General, King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman Jordan
• Miriam Mutebi, Clinical Epidemiologist & Health Systems Researcher; Consultant Breast Surgical Oncologist, Aga Khan University Hospital (Kenya)
• Ana Cristina Pinho Mendes Pereira, Director General, Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA)
• C S Pramesh, Director, Tata Memorial Hospital, Tata Memorial Hospital / National Cancer Grid (India)
• Danielle Lee Rodin, Radiation Oncologist; Director, Global Cancer Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Canada)
• Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, Founder and CEO, Medicaid Cancer Foundation (Nigeria)

See the full profiles of UICC Board of Directors