Sofiat Akinola: Access to Cancer Care Must Match Scientific Progress
Director, Health Policy and External Affairs at Roche, posted on LinkedIn:
“Cancer is once again in the headlines, this time with the recent announcement of President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis. Like cervical cancer, which primarily affects women, prostate cancer affects men. Both types of cancer are highly treatable when detected early, yet, that’s still not the reality for too many.
‘The diagnosis is not a death sentence’, reflects the progress we’ve made in cancer research and management. But access to that progress remains profoundly unequal. Many continue to face poor outcomes, not because we lack knowledge on how to prevent or manage, but because they cannot access the tools that already exist.
As global health leaders gather this week at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, and with the UN High-Level Meeting on Noncommunicable Diseases (UN-HLM on NCDs) approaching in September, we must do more to prioritize preventable cancers, like cervical cancer, on the global agenda.
That’s why a growing coalition of countries and advocates is calling on WHO and member states to officially designate 17 November as World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day. This annual observance would help sustain political will and momentum, ensure accountability, and inspire collective action, especially in high-burden settings where barriers to vaccination, screening and treatment persist.
Read the blog, co-authored by Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, on the World Economic Forum platform.
With thanks to the contributors who shared their powerful insights: Tamika Felder, Cervivor, Inc.; Dr. Heather White, TogetHER for Health; Dr. Cherie Tulloch; Dr. Aisha Mustapha.”
More posts featuring Sofiat Akinola.
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Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
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