Lisa Stevens, Director at International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Discussions on NCCPs were prevalent during WHA – what’s next?
Reflecting on the World Health Assembly and the focus on National Cancer Control Plans (NCCPs) gives me hope.
My 2 weeks in Geneva started with the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital NCCP iCAYA workshop-strategizing on strengthening strategies focused on integrating childhood cancer priorities into national policies and building trust across stakeholders groups.
This was followed by the second iteration of the Cancer Planners Forum, hosted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in partnership with the International Cancer Control Partnership (ICCP) members (including UN partners like IAEA, WHO and IARC) and the support of private sector.
The multi-partner, multi-sector approach mirrors the principles that the ICCP promotes when working with countries to support cancer plan development and implementation.
The theme of NCCPs carried through to the Commonwealth event where initial findings from the Lancet Commission on Cancer in the Commonwealth were presented. Some of the recommendations include regionalization and cross border support for Commonwealth countries to develop NCCPs. I appreciated the opportunity to reflect the importance of imPACT reviews to serve as input to NCCPs and to also mention the ICCP support to this gathering of Member States.
The Cancer Planners Forum covered topics important for cancer leaders in countries – setting objectives, legal frameworks, investment cases, stakeholder engagement and data (among many more).
One pervasive theme woven throughout the forum and other events was the importance of implementing plans. Plans that remain on shelves cannot have an impact on people’s cancer journey. Plans may not be perfect of include everything that is required. As discussed during one roundtable, a plan is better than no plan. Implementers can work within a framework of the existing plan, while looking for ways to improve the next iteration.
The regional workshops mentioned by the Lancet Commission, in conjunction with the learning by the UN Agencies in supporting NCCPs, can continue to contribute to countries’ activities to develop and then implement NCCPs. There is a need for more peer reviewed publications on developing and implementing NCCPs.
I look forward to the work continuing beyond the World Health Assembly.”
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