The Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) participated in the ‘World Cancer
Leader’s Summit’ organised by the Union for International Cancer Control
(UICC) recently in Mexico.
A QCS delegation led by Sheikh Dr Khalid bin Jabor al-Thani, chairman,
QCS, took part in the summit held under the theme ‘Cities Driving
Change.’
The summit was opened by Mexican President Enrique Pe?a Nieto, in the
presence of heads of states, ministers of health, city and industry
leaders, first ladies of different countries, executives from UICC
membership organisations and many other influential players from cancer
and health leadership communities.
The conference discussed how to partner collectively and support cities
in translating the global commitments in cancer prevention and care into
national action by 2025.
The summit 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
forum to secure a co-ordinated, multilevel global response to address
the spiralling cancer epidemic.
Sheikh Dr Khalid said,“Our participation in this summit came within the
framework of our membership in UICC which is one of the largest
international institutions in the fight against cancer. It stresses the
importance of keeping up with the international experience to develop
programmes and future plans through participation in all internal and
external events.”
Participants at the event called for greater response to the burden of
cancer at all levels, especially that four billion people are living in
cities today and very few of them have access to high quality cancer
treatment outside of high-income countries. Urban areas therefore
present a critical opportunity to reach the majority of people with
cancer treatment infrastructure.
At the summit, Dr Khalid met with princess Dina Mired, president, UICC,
and both sides discussed opportunities for Qatar Cancer Society to work
more closely with UICC and increasingly engage across UICC’s convening,
capacity building, and advocacy pillars. The meeting also defined a work
plan for engagement at the World Cancer Congress (WCC) in Kuala Lumpur
as well as a primary role at the WCC in Oman in 2020 and explore how to
leverage national and regional networks in the global fight against
cancer.
