ACS Activities at the AORTIC Conference 2009 -- Tanzania

American Cancer Society Sponsors Plenary Session on Cancer Control Advocacy on Final Day of AORTIC Conference

On November 14, the final day of the AORTIC Conference in Tanzania, the American Cancer Society sponsored a plenary session about cancer control advocacy that focused on making the disease a global health priority. Ann McMikel, strategic director, Planning and Operations, American Cancer Society, served as one of the co-chairs for the plenary session and introduced the session, along with Seth Ayettey, MD, PhD, professor of Anatomy, University of Ghana. Johanna Ralston, vice president, Global Strategies and managing director, International Affairs, American Cancer Society, addressed advocacy related to cervical cancer screening and prevention. Claire Neal, senior director of Mission, Lance Armstrong Foundation, talked about engaging advocates to make cancer a global priority. Anso Thom, a journalist with the South African health news Web site Health-e and American Cancer Society journalist fellow, spoke about engaging the media to raise cancer awareness. Earlier in the day, American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, participated in a panel discussion with leaders from other global health organizations about the importance of international collaboration for cancer control in Africa.

American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Delivers Keynote Address on Colorectal Cancer in Africa; Society Recognizes AORTIC’s Commitment to Fighting Cancer

Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer, American Cancer Society, speaking at an ACS pre-conference workshop for journalists and nongovernmental organization representatives in Tanzania.

American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, delivered a keynote address about the colorectal cancer burden in Africa November 13 at AORTIC Conference 2009 in Tanzania. His address included the latest available data and opportunities to intervene now to prevent the cancer from becoming a public health challenge in the region by using lessons learned from the US and other developed parts of the world. At the conference’s gala dinner, the Society presented AORTIC’s leadership with a gift to recognize the organization’s commitment to the fight against cancer in Africa. The new president and executive council of AORTIC were named at the dinner. Serigne Gueye, MD, from Senegal, will serve as president of AORTIC for the next two years.

American Cancer Society Actively Participates in First Full Day of AORTIC Conference

 
Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer, American Cancer Society (second row, standing in center), with other distinguished guests at AORTIC Conference 2009, including His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania (seated first row, second from right).

On Thursday, November 12, the first full day of the American Cancer Society-supported AORTIC Conference 2009 got off to a great start. The conference has attracted record attendance, with more than 700 global government and health leaders convening to discuss cancer and tobacco control in Africa. American Cancer Society staff and volunteers delivered presentations at key plenary sessions and workshops on tobacco control, advocacy, and cancer planning, including Van Wolf, chair, National Board of Directors; Thomas Glynn, PhD, director, Cancer Science and Trends and director, International Cancer Control; Ann McMikel, strategic director, International Affairs; and Loyce Pace, director, Regional Programs, International Affairs. Following the morning sessions, Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete, officially welcomed the conference delegates and pledged his commitment to making cancer a priority in the region. In the evening, the American Cancer Society delegation hosted a dinner for Society partners attending the conference.

Press Release: AORTIC Conference Opening Day

For more information, please contact:
Busola Afolabi at Busola.Afolabi@cancer.org or +255 772 225 381
Megan Dold at mdold@burnesscommunications.com or +255 752 940 401

Conference on Growing Cancer Pandemic in Africa Attracts Largest Gathering of Experts on Continent

Record Attendance of More than 700 Global Government and Health Leaders
Convene in Dar es Saalam to Prevent Devastating Health and Economic Toll of Disease Projected to Wreak Havoc on Continent 

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA (12 November 2009) – As leading health, government, and civil society leaders gather in Africa this week for the 3rd African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC) meeting, cancer is already poised to become the world’s leading cause of death in 2010. It is now projected that cancer will account for 12 million annual deaths worldwide by 2030. In Africa, where the diseases are projected to grow at an alarming rate, more than 70 percent of cases are diagnosed when it is too late. In 2002 alone, cancer claimed the lives of 412,000 people across the African continent. This figure is expected to double by 2020. Pain medicine and palliative care are rarely available in Africa for those who suffer from late stage cancers.

“We have an opportunity this week to accelerate efforts to prevent the catastrophic impact of cancer in Africa if we turn prevention into practice,” said Dr. Twalib Ngoma, President of AORTIC. “But these diseases must become a priority on the health agenda of each African country so that it receives immediate resources and attention.”

In a region of the world most notably affected by HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases, cancer is now emerging as a serious public health threat. To date, advocacy activities have received little support from many African governments, and cancer awareness, prevention, and treatment programs have suffered. Cervical cancer, which is easily prevented or treated and has essentially been eradicated in western nations, is the leading cancer killer among African women. Simultaneously, as African nations are facing the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among all developing countries -- and the tobacco industry is targeting new African markets --  the continent is not adequately resourced to address cancer and other chronic diseases. 

“Africa’s rising cancer burden is not a problem of Africa alone,” said Otis W. Brawley, M.D., chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society.  “For the first time in history, we have the tools in hand to prevent a pandemic. We must stand together to place this disease higher on the global health agenda, designate resources to fight it, and share evidenced-based practices to save lives.”

In addition to the lack of adequate resources to fight cancer in Africa, health leaders on the continent still battle a number of myths associated with the diseases. In advance of the AORTIC Cancer in Africa conference, the American Cancer Society specifically convened a Media Summit of 24 journalists from eight African nations. The journalists discussed these myths, as well as shared reporting methods for overcoming the challenges covering the rising cancer and tobacco burden in Africa.

Working with 34 representatives of African nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) convened by the Society in a pre-conference workshop, five particular cancer myths were identified which contribute to the barriers in cancer awareness in Africa. According to the group, common myths include the following:
• Cancer is a death sentence;
• Cancer is a disease of the rich;
• If a man touches a woman’s breast, she will get breast cancer;
• Breast removal as a treatment for cancer will result in death; and
• Some cancers, such as prostate cancer, are caused by promiscuity.
Solutions to address these myths include strengthening relationships between journalists and NGOs so that journalists have access to scientifically credible, accurate, and timely data, and also to humanize the stories on cancer and destigmatize the disease by profiling survivors.

The pre-conference workshop for NGOs is part of a two-year Africa program supported financially by Oracle. These AORTIC workshops convened 34 NGO representatives from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania to share grant project outcomes from a new American Cancer Society-facilitated network of leading African cancer and health NGOs. The initiative aims to strengthen these organizations’ work with government officials, media, healthcare centers, community-based organizations, and private industry in an effort to improve programs and services for those affected by cancer. The initiative also aims to set cancer priorities and responses through research and pilot interventions.

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About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, and with programs in more than 20 countries, we fight for every birthday threatened by cancer in communities worldwide. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying people across the globe to join the fight. As a global leader in cancer research investment, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. To learn more or to get help, and for more information on our global programs, visit www.cancer.org/international .

Media and NGOs Dialogue at American Cancer Society Workshops in Tanzania; ACS Chief Medical Officer Joins Key Global Health Leaders to Open AORTIC Conference

The American Cancer Society’s pre-conference workshops in Tanzania concluded earlier today with a lively discussion between African journalists and nongovernmental organization (NGO) representatives on barriers to cancer coverage and potential solutions in Africa. In the course of the discussion, the 24 journalists and 34 NGO representatives identified particular cancer myths that contribute to the barriers in cancer awareness in Africa. They also proposed solutions to debunking these myths, including strengthening relationships between journalists and NGOs so that journalists have access to credible and accurate information, and humanizing stories on cancer and destigmatizing the disease by profiling survivors. The discussion was followed by a graduation lunch for all workshop participants, where they were joined by Jean-Baptiste Tapko, MD, the World Health Organization’s country representative for Tanzania. The pre-conference workshops have been generously supprted by Oracle, the Canadian Cancer Society, and AORTIC.

Later in the day, American Cancer Society staff and volunteers joined with hundreds of cancer and tobacco control partners from around the world at the opening ceremony of AORTIC Conference 2009. The conference, which runs through November 14, will give participants the opportunity to share ideas and best practices on all aspects of cancer care and management in Africa, from prevention and diagnoses to treatment and palliation. American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, served on a panel during the ceremony with other distinguished guests, including David Mwakyusa, MD, minister for Health and Social Welfare of Tanzania. At the conclusion of the opening ceremony, Brawley was given a special gift in recognition of the American Cancer Society’s role as a key partner in cancer control in Africa. 

Press Release: Africa Global Smokefree Partnership Report

For more information, please contact:
Megan Dold at mdold@burnesscommunications.com or +255 752 940 401 (8-12 November)
Busola Afolabi at Busola.Afolabi@cancer.org or + 1 678 458 0684

90 Percent of Africans Are Not Protected By Smoke-free Laws

Despite Tobacco Industry’s Powerful Efforts to Halt Progress, Several Countries Continue to Put Smoke-free Laws into Place

DAR ES SALAAM, TANZANIA (11 November 2009)–As African nations are poised to undergo the highest increase in the rate of tobacco use among developing countries, nearly 90 percent of people on the continent remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke, according to a new report released at a regional cancer conference today.

The report, Global Voices: Rebutting the Tobacco Industry, Winning Smokefree Air, points to signs of hope, however. Several African countries are fighting against the tobacco industry’s aggressive efforts to stop public health interventions by putting smoke-free laws into place, protecting more than 100 million more people since 2007.  The report was published by the multi-partner Global Smokefree Partnership.

“For the first time in history, we have the tools in hand to prevent a pandemic,” said Dr. Otis W. Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. “Recent data suggests that, with current trends, more than half of the region of Africa will double its tobacco consumption within 12 years. Smoke-free public places are one example of a low-cost and extremely effective intervention that must be implemented now to protect health.”

Within the last year, Kenya and Niger have enacted national smoke-free policies, and South Africa, which has been smoke-free since March 2007, continues to play an important role in the region, demonstrating that smoke-free laws can work in Africa. In a first for the region, Mauritius recently passed a law that is close to meeting the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) standards, ranking among the most robust anti-smoking measures in the world.

Implementation remains a challenge in many places, including Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Uganda, according to the report. Obstacles include identifying resources for implementation, and opposition to smoke-free laws by the tobacco industry. In Abuja, Nigeria, for example, 55 percent of school students are not aware that secondhand smoke is harmful to health, and only 1 percent of Nigeria’s population is protected by strong smoke-free laws.

The report exposes the tobacco industry’s tactics to hold back legislation and to convince African governments that tobacco is important to economic activity; that raising taxes on cigarettes and implementing smoke-free laws will result in revenue and job losses. In Kenya, for example, the tobacco industry has issued a legal challenge to a strong smoke-free law passed by the Parliament. And in Zambia, British American Tobacco has helped to dilute proposals for a smoke-free law.

However, evidence over the years suggests that the alleged revenue losses do not occur. According to the report, the smoke-free law in Mauritius is not expected to impact tourist revenues, which account for over a quarter of GDP. In South Africa, VAT returns showed that smoke-free laws had no significant effect on restaurant revenues, and may have had a positive effect. When South Africa raised its taxes, revenues rose. And in countries where governments often lack a surplus of revenue, raising taxes is found to be beneficial to social services, education, and healthcare.

In addition to smokefree laws, economic interventions, such as imposing high taxes on cigarettes, have significant potential to effectively and efficiently decrease consumption rates in Africa. Doubling the price of cigarettes by increasing the tax can lower consumption by fully 60 percent. This is holding true in many African nations. In South Africa, for example, tobacco consumption has fallen by one-third since 1993, when aggressive increases in cigarettes taxes began to take hold.

It is estimated that in 2010 smoking will claim the lives of 6 million people worldwide, 72 percent of whom reside in low- and middle-income countries. If current trends continue, tobacco will kill 7 million people annually by 2020 and more than 8 million people annually by 2030.

Nearly 1 billion people living in some 45 countries globally are now protected from the health hazards of secondhand tobacco smoke at work and in public places. Despite the rapid progress, more than 85 percent of the world’s people still remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke, many of them in the low- and middle-income countries.

The report by the Global Smokefree Partnership was launched at a Media Summit hosted by the American Cancer Society in advance of the AORTIC Cancer in Africa conference beginning on Nov. 12 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, and with programs in more than 20 countries, we fight for every birthday threatened by cancer in communities worldwide. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying people across the globe to join the fight. As a global leader in cancer research investment, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. To learn more or to get help, and for more information on our global programs, visit www.cancer.org/international.

The Global Smokefree Partnership is a multipartner initiative formed to promote effective smoke-free air policies worldwide. The Partnership is hosted by the American Cancer Society and the Framework Convention Alliance.  The Steering Group members are: Action on Smoking and Health – DC, Action on Smoking and Health London, Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Cancer Research UK, HealthBridge India, International Union Against Cancer, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Promoting Action for Smoke-free Environments (APALTA), Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Smokefree Partnership Europe, Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance, World Heart Federation, World Lung Foundation. Other partners include Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer.

American Cancer Society Convenes 24 Journalists in Tanzania for Media Summit to Address Africa Cancer and Tobacco Burden

On the first full day of the American Cancer Society Media Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 24 journalists from eight African countries engaged in discussions with experts from the Society and other global cancer and tobacco control organizations on the emerging threats of cancer and tobacco use in Africa. The Media Summit is generously supported by Oracle and the Canadian Cancer Society. Two American Cancer Society staff, Thomas Glynn, PhD, director, Cancer Science and Trends and director, International Cancer Control; and Evan Blecher, economist, International Tobacco Control Research, joined other tobacco control experts in making presentations on tobacco use and control in Africa, including Tosin Orogun, programme manager, African Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI); Sverre Berg Lutnaes, senior advisor, International Affairs, Norwegian Cancer Society; and Lutgard Kagaruki, Tanzania Tobacco Control Forum. Cancer survivor Samantha Galliet, director, Campaigning for Cancer based in South Africa, and Haskell Ward, a representative of SEACOMM and an advisor to the Society, talked about the importance of survivor stories and advocacy in raising awareness about cancer. In group exercises, the journalists discussed with cancer and tobacco control experts the impact of various cancer and tobacco myths commonly heard on the continent and shared information that could be used to debunk these myths through media stories. In the evening, a panel of cancer control experts spoke with journalists about the challenges and opportunities involved with Africa’s growing cancer burden. The panel discussion was moderated by Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer, American Cancer Society, and included these other cancer control experts: Twalib Ngoma, MD, president of AORTIC and executive director, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Tanzania; Lynette Denny, secretary treasurer of AORTIC and professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and human genetics and director, Cancer Risk Clinic, University of Chicago Medical Center; and Serigne Gueye, professor of urology, University of Cheikh Anta Diop and head of urology, Hospital General de Grand Yoff, Senegal.

African Journalists Arrive in Tanzania for an American Cancer Society Media Summit

Twenty-five journalists from leading media organizations in eight African countries took part in a welcome reception in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, this evening at the start of an American Cancer Society Media Summit. The Media Summit continues through Wednesday, with presentations and interactive sessions focused on raising awareness of cancer and tobacco control in Africa through articles and programs produced by journalists. Further updates on the Media Summit will be posted on this blog soon.

Media Summit Event Program – Nov. 10, 2009 - Fighting the Cancer and Tobacco Pandemic in Africa Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

White Sands Hotel
  
Day 1 (Monday Nov. 9)

• Journalist Registration and Welcome Reception (6:00 – 8:00pm)

Day 2 (Tuesday Nov. 10)

• Continental Breakfast  (7:30 – 8:55am)

• Welcome Remarks – Dr. Otis Brawley, The American Cancer Society (9:00 – 9:10am)

Africa’s Emerging Tobacco Threat

• Thomas Glynn, Director, International Cancer Control, the American Cancer Society
  (9:10 – 9:25am)

• Tosin Orogun, Programme Manager, African Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI)
(9:25 – 9:40am)

• Sverre Berg Lutnæs, Senior Adviser, International Affairs, Norwegian Cancer Society
  (9:40 – 9:55am)

BREAK (9:55 – 10:10am)

• Evan Blecher, Researcher, American Cancer Society (10:10– 10:30am)

• Lutgard Kagaruki, Tanzania Tobacco Control Forum, (10:30 - 10:50am)

Q & A:  Moderator Olayinka Oyegbile, Senior Health Reporter, Nigeria (10:50 am – 11:15am)

Tobacco Myths (11:15 – 12:00 noon)

• Facilitators: Tosin Orogun, Tom Glynn
 

LUNCH (12:00 – 1:15pm)

Survivors and Advocacy 
 
• Samantha Galliet, Survivor, Director, Campaigning for Cancer, South Africa (1:30 – 1:45pm)
• Princess Nikky Onyeri, Executive Director, Princess Nikky Breast Cancer Foundation (1:45 – 2:00pm)
• Haskell Ward, SEACOMM, Technology and Advocacy (2:00-2:15pm)

Q & A: Moderator Anso Thom, Health – e (2:15 - 2:45pm)

Cancer Myths and Media Challenges

Interactive Group Exercise on Myths and How to Debunk Them
(2:45 – 3:30pm)

Wrap-up Daytime Program
• Dr. Otis Brawley, American Cancer Society

Bus Departs White Sands Hotel (5:15pm)

  

Media Summit: AORTIC Briefing

Kunduchi Hotel

AORTIC Panel on Africa Cancer Burden (6:00 – 7:00pm)

• Dr. Otis Brawley, ACS Chief Medical Officer, Welcome and Introductions
• Dr. Twalib Ngoma, President of AORTIC and Executive Director of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in  Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
• Prof. Lynette Denny, Secretary Treasurer of AORTIC and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
• Dr. Olufunmilayo Olopade, Professor of Medicine and Human Genetics, Director, Cancer Risk Clinic, University of Chicago Medical Center, AORTIC Council Member
• Prof. Serigne Gueye, Professor of Urology at the University of Cheikh Anta Diop and Head of Urology at the Hospital General de Grand Yoff, Dakar, Senegal.

Q & A  Moderated by Otis Brawley
(7:00 – 7:30pm)

Dinner (7:30 – 9:00pm)

Media Summit: Speaker Biography for Haskell Sears Ward

Haskell Sears Ward was born in 1940 in the small town of Griffin, Georgia. As a student at Clark College in Atlanta in 1960, he was an active participant in the student sit-in movement carried out by college students during the civil rights movement.  He has over 40 years of experience in public and international affairs.  Mr. Ward is an officer of two major African infrastructure investment projects.   He has been an officer in Global Alumina since January, 2000.  At Global Alumina, he has been responsible for managing Global Alumina’s relationships with key government officials and non-governmental organizations including the U.N., USAID and the World Bank.  He is also Senior Vice President of SEACOM, a company which is developing a major sub-marine fiber optics communications system linking Eastern and Southern Africa with Europe and Asia.  Mr. Ward began his professional career as a volunteer in Kenya in 1962 with a Non-governmental organization, Operation Crossroads Africa, for which he later became a staff member.  In 1963, Mr. Ward was a member of one of the first groups of Peace Corps volunteers, posted to Ethiopia.  He also worked for the Ford Foundation (in New York City and Lagos, Nigeria), where he specialized in economic development programs and strategies for the Middle East and Africa. He served on the Policy Planning Staff of the State Department during the Carter Administration under Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. With the rank of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, he was the responsible officer on the Policy Planning Staff for the development and oversight of the Department’s Africa policies. Following his tenure at the State Department, he served as Deputy Mayor of The City of New York in the Administration of Edward Koch. Mr. Ward served on the board of directors of the American Council on Germany and was a long time member of the Trilateral Commission.  He is also the author of African Development Reconsidered: New Perspectives from the Continent widely used as a college text book on African development issues. He is now a member of the Board of Directors of the Corporate Council on Africa. Mr. Ward received his undergraduate degree from Clark College in Atlanta and his graduate degree in African Studies from the University of California in Los Angeles. He is married to Leah Sears, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. He currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.