Union for International Cancer Control

Union for International Cancer Control
Abbreviation UICC
Formation 1933
Type INGO
Region served
Worldwide
Official language
English, French
President
 Tezer Kutluk  Turkey
Affiliations World Health Organization (WHO)
Website UICC Official website

The Union for International Cancer Control (previously named International Union Against Cancer) or UICC (French: Union internationale contre le cancer) is a membership based, non-governmental organization that exists to help the global health community accelerate the fight against cancer.[1]

Founded in 1933 and based in Geneva, Switzerland, UICC has a membership of over 800 organisations across 155 countries, and features the world’s major cancer societies, ministries of health, research institutes and patient groups. UICC partners with its members, key partners, the World Health Organization, World Economic Forum and others, to tackle cancer on a global scale.[2]

Their mission statement is:

"To unite the cancer community to reduce the global cancer burden, to promote greater equity, and to integrate cancer control into the world health and development agenda."[3]

Mission

Under the leadership of their Chief Executive Officer, Cary Adams, the Secretariat focuses on these three areas of priority:

1. Convening the global cancer control community
2. Advocacy and putting cancer on the global health agenda

Their advocacy goals are:

3. Coordinating high-impact global programmes

UICC’s global programmes focus on five priority areas and target advocacy, education and training, as well as in-country activities in collaboration with partners and local UICC members.

History

In 1933, cancer researchers recognized a need to share knowledge and expertise globally, and so founded UICC. Since then, UICC has grown into a respected forum for all professionals engaged in cancer prevention and control. Its objective is to advance scientific and medical knowledge in research diagnosis, therapy and prevention of cancer and to promote all aspects of campaigns to prevent cancer throughout the world. Over the years, UICC has fostered the development of cancer institutions, the sharing and exchange of knowledge, the transfer of skills and technologies, and the education of professionals engaged in cancer control.

World Cancer Congress

The UICC sponsors a biannual World Cancer Congress that brings together the world's leaders in the fight to control cancer. Leading clinicians, practitioners, government agencies and NGO's, patient-care providers and advocates, researchers and behavioural scientists and public health experts focus on transforming the latest knowledge into strategies that countries, communities, institutions and individuals can employ to reduce the cancer burden. The last World Cancer Congress, which took place in Melbourne, Australia in 2014,[4] had the four following tracks:[5]

The next World Cancer Congress will take place in Paris, France from 31 October–3 November 2016.[6]

Organizations

UICC brings together a wide range of organisations, including voluntary cancer leagues and societies, research and treatment centres, public health authorities, patient support networks, advocacy groups, and in some countries, ministries of health.[7] UICC has consultative status with the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council. It works closely with the World Health Organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer,[8] and the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT)[9] initiated by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Cancer networks, partnerships, coalitions, and alliances may join UICC in the category of common interest groups, offering cancer control professionals, volunteers and advocates the chance to become part of a vibrant international community – accessing and sharing information, discussing and debating key cancer control issues with their peers, contributing to shared activities, and helping shape UICC's strategic directions as well as the programme of the UICC World Cancer Congress.

Knowledge Into Action

The World Health Assembly resolution on cancer prevention and control (WHA58.22), adopted in May 2005, calls on all countries to intensify action against cancer by developing and reinforcing cancer control programmes. This resolution has added momentum to the WHO's longstanding work against cancer. WHO is working with partners like UICC to create a global plan of action against cancer. A series of six WHO modules provides practical advice for programme managers and policymakers on how to advocate, plan and implement effective cancer control programmes, particularly in low-and-middle-income countries.[10] According to Dr Margaret Chan, WHO director general, "WHO cancer prevention, including control strategies and guidelines, helps governments in all countries of the world to improve their capacity to reduce national cancer burdens. Our partner organizations play a crucial role in accelerating the translation of WHO's guidance into national practice in order to save the lives of millions."

See also

References

  1. ↑ Official website
  2. ↑ About UICC
  3. ↑ About UICC
  4. ↑ About the Congress
  5. ↑ WCC 2012 Tracks
  6. ↑ World Cancer Congress website
  7. ↑ http://www.uicc.org/index.php?id=518
  8. ↑ iarc.fr
  9. ↑ cancer.iaea.org
  10. ↑ http://www.who.int/cancer/modules/en/index.html
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