Olubukola Ayodele, Breast Cancer Lead at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Co-Convenor (Co-Chair) at London Global Cancer Week, shared on LinkedIn:
“It was a pleasure to join the 2026 Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) General Assembly on behalf of London Global Cancer Week to receive updates and discuss the future.
The new leadership for the next few years has been announced. Huge congratulations to Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, the new UICC President as she begins her tenure. She is the first African to lead UICC, one of the world’s leading international organisations dedicated to advancing cancer control. We celebrate you and wish you every success as you lead UICC into its next chapter.
Congratulations to the new President-Elect, CS Pramesh and the newly elected board of directors for 2026-2028:
- Matti Aapro, Zipporah Ali, Fatima Cardoso, Hesham ElGhazaly, Christopher Jackson, Christian Ntizimira, Kathleen Schmeler, Julia Ismael, Todd Harper, Maira Caleffi, Jesper Fisker, Sri Navaratnam, Han-Kwang Yang, Stella Aguinaga Bialous.
It is lovely to see so many familiar faces among the newly elected Board members, including colleagues whose work and contributions to cancer care, research and advocacy I have admired over the years. The geographical representation across Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania and the Americas is encouraging.
Sincere appreciation to Ulrika Årehed Kågström, the outgoing President, for her leadership, commitment and service to the global cancer community. UICC has an important role in bringing together cancer organisations, clinicians, researchers, patient advocates and policymakers from across the world to influence the global cancer agenda.
As someone deeply committed to global oncology and tackling inequalities in cancer care, I believe international collaboration has never been more important. We are living through an extraordinary period of scientific advances in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Yet millions of people around the world are still unable to access even the most basic cancer services. We cannot measure our progress in cancer control solely by the treatments we develop, but also by how many people can actually benefit from them.
I hope the new leadership will continue to strengthen the voices of countries and communities often underrepresented in global decision-making, promote meaningful partnerships, and champion equitable access to cancer care.
There is much to celebrate, but also much work ahead.
Congratulations once again to the incoming leadership, and thank you to everyone who has served UICC with such dedication. I look forward to what the next few years will bring.”
You can also read:
C. S. Pramesh Has Been Elected UICC President-Elect for the 2026–2028 Term
Other articles about UICC on OncoDaily.