Inequality in Cancer Care : WHO
Geneva: On World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the gap in the availability of cancer care in high and low-income countries to be addressed. Globally, cancer is one of the leading causes of death, with an estimated 20 million people diagnosed and 10 million deaths from the disease in 2021, the WHO said.
These numbers will continue to rise in the decades ahead, Xinhua news agency quoted the global health body as saying.
World Cancer Day is a global event taking place every year on 4 February to unite the people worldwide in the fight against cancer. Its aim is to increase awareness and education about it, sensitize governments in order to take action.
According to National Health Portal of India , globally about 8.8 million people die from cancer each year; if left unchecked, the number of deaths will increase to 13.2 million per year by 2030. The five most frequent cancers in India are breast cancer, cervical cancer, oral cancer, lung and colorectal cancer.
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Though all cancers can be treated and many can be prevented or cured, available care reflects global inequality. Comprehensive treatment is available in more than 90 per cent of high-income countries, but less than 15 per cent of low-income countries, WHO said.
Cancer services are covered by national healthcare services in only 37 per cent of low- and middle-income countries, compared to at least 78 per cent of high-income countries.
WHO highlighted the role of national cancer centers, saying they can be a one-stop shop for prevention, diagnosis, multidisciplinary treatment and supportive care, which makes it easier for patients to navigate services with concentrated expertise, and leads to better results. Radiotherapy is among the most cost-effective, efficient and widely-used treatments for cancer, but worldwide access remains inadequate.
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