The Global Fight Against Cancer

Follow American Cancer Society Activities at This Week’s ‘UICC World Cancer Congress 2010’ in China

American Cancer Society staff and volunteer leadership will be representing the Society at the UICC World Cancer Congress 2010 from August 18-21, in Shenzhen, China. This major global cancer conference, organized by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), is held every two years, bringing together the world’s leaders in cancer control for strategic planning and the exchange of best practices in the global fight against cancer. As a leader in the global cancer control movement, the Society collaborates with key partners worldwide to help reduce the global cancer burden and put cancer on the global health agenda.

 

The American Cancer Society will be involved in several high-profile events and activities during the UICC World Cancer Congress, including:

 

· A press conference to launch the Chinese version of the Society publication The Tobacco Atlas, Third Edition

 

· Hosting a joint dinner with LIVESTRONG^® and launching a new Society/LIVESTRONG^® report on the global economic cost of cancer

 

· A Society sponsored session on tobacco control in sub-Saharan Africa

 

· Leading and participating in a wide variety of panels and seminars on cancer and tobacco control topics

 

Check this blog during the next week for updates on Society activities at the conference. You can also follow our activities on social media, through our @ACSNews and @acsglobal Twitter accounts, and the “American Cancer Society Global” Facebook page.

 

American Cancer Society Granted Consultative Status with the United Nations

The American Cancer Society was recently granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Being granted consultative status opens the door for the Society to actively engage with the ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, as well as with the United Nations (UN) Secretariat, programs, funds, and agencies. In addition, the Society will have UN ground passes, and be able to attend UN Commission meetings and table 500-word statements at those meetings. Receiving consultative status at this time is especially important as the first-ever UN Summit on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) will take place in September 2011. Such a high-level event should be a catalyst for major change at a global level for all people living with cancer and other NCDs.

American Cancer Society Trains 26 Scholars from 13 Latin American Cancer NGOs in Advocacy

Participants in the cancer training in Washington, DC

 

Twenty-six scholars from 13 cancer nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Latin America gathered for advocacy training July 12-16 in Washington, DC. This weeklong event was the fourth and final training part of the Latin America Regional Health Grants Program, a four-year American Cancer Society program aimed at strengthening organizations and empowering cancer patients in Latin America that was made possible by a generous educational grant from the Pfizer Foundation. The sessions covered such subjects as selecting advocacy issues, setting advocacy objectives, political mapping, and global advocacy. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network^SM (ACS CAN), the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, hosted the Latin American scholars and provided them a unique opportunity to learn about and experience the advocacy process from our nation’s capital. The speakers included Dr. Elmer Huerta, a past president of the American Cancer Society; Society regional consultants; and from ACS CAN – Molly Daniels, Bob Chapman, Joe Franco, and Mona Shah. Carrie Konosky from the Kidney Cancer Association, Jorge Puente and Gerard Hagn from Pfizer, and Robert Raben from The Raben Group, also delivered powerful speeches. Throughout the training, the scholars also had an opportunity to make presentations about the early detection projects they planned and implemented as part of the program. Finally, the scholars went to Capitol Hill and met with Daniel E. Smith, former president of ACS CAN and current staff director of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP). He offered an insider’s perspective on the role cancer NGOs can play vis-à-vis their governments.
 

American Cancer Society Co-hosts Forum on Controlling Noncommunicable Diseases in Africa Through Public-Private Partnerships

On June 30, the American Cancer Society launched the first session of a three-part ‘Multi-sector Working Forum on Noncommunicable Disease in Africa,’ in collaboration with The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) in Washington, DC. The American Cancer Society, as a leader in the global cancer control movement, developed this forum with CCA as part of preparations for the United Nations (UN) special summit on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), planned for September 2011, which will address the growing global burden of cancer and other NCDs. In advance of that high-level meeting, government, civil society, and other stakeholders have called for interventions that demonstrate the need for and success of programs worldwide that address NCDs. The American Cancer Society’s first session of the Forum included a series of discussions on cancer and other NCD priorities, ranging from prevention and research to early detection and patient support. The primary objective of the Forum is to convene stakeholders working on NCDs in sub-Saharan Africa and have them brainstorm new public-private partnerships or projects involving the private sector that can help build the appropriate health information and systems to mitigate and prevent NCDs in the region. The end goal will be to present concrete and actionable steps or proposals for tangible projects/partnerships for private-sector involvement in resolving this growing health challenge at future conferences and meetings, such as the UN summit. Last month’s Forum launch was chaired by Mr. Haskell Ward, chair of the American Cancer Society’s Global Health Strategy Advisory Committee, and attended by civil society, private sector, and government officials, including ambassadors to the US from Angola and Mozambique. The session included presentations by American Cancer Society staff and representatives of GE Healthcare, JHPIEGO (international nonprofit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University), Medtronics, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The next session of the Forum, ‘Projects and Partnerships for Screening and Diagnosis,’ will be held on August 5 at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network^SM (ACS CAN) office in Washington, DC.

American Cancer Society Organizes Second Forum in Brazil to Address Breast Cancer Control

Speakers at the breast cancer control forum in Brazil

In collaboration with the Brazilian breast cancer coalition (FEMAMA in Portuguese), the American Cancer Society organized and hosted the Rio Grande do Sul State Intersectorial Breast Cancer Control Forum (I Fórum Intersetorial de Controle de Câncer de Mama do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul) from May 19-20 in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. This forum was the second of a series of American Cancer Society breast cancer forums that will be held in Brazil, aimed at improving breast cancer control and promoting the participation of civil society in cancer planning. Rio Grande do Sul State was chosen as a priority location because of its high incidence rates relative to other states in Brazil as well as the leadership roles of government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in addressing the growing breast cancer burden. During the forum, breast cancer experts and key stakeholders discussed recent advances in heath policies and practices, identified persistent barriers to care, and developed recommendations to improve access to and quality of early detection, diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care. The forum convened more than 50 participants, including representatives of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute (INCA in Portuguese), state and municipal secretaries of health, leading public hospitals, philanthropic hospitals, research universities, and NGOs. Dr. Robert A. Smith, Director of Screening for ACS, was the keynote speaker at the event. Other speakers included Dra. Maira Caleffi (FEMAMA), Nair Ferreira (Instituto da Mama do RS, IMAMA), Dr. José Luiz Telles (Ministry of Health), Dr. Ana Ramalho (INCA), Dr. Sandra Coccaro de Souza (State Secretary of Health), Dr. Luciane Rampanelli Franco (Municipal Secretary of Health, Porto Alegre), Dr. Airton Stein (Grupo Hospitalar Conceição), Rosa Rutta (Instituto da Mama do RS, IMAMA), Dr. José Luiz Pedrini (Brazilian Mastology Society), Dr. Marcus Vinicius Bortolotto (IPUC), Dr. Felipe Zerwes (Brazilian Mastology Society), Dr. Stephen Stefani (UNIMED), and Dr. João Marcos Rizzo (Hospital Moinhos de Vento). The event was spotlighted in leading regional newspapers.

 

American Cancer Society Receives Special Consultative Status with the United Nations

On Thursday, June 3, the United Nations Committee on Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) recommended that the American Cancer Society receive special consultative status with the United Nations (UN). The American Cancer Society attended the meeting that day held by the UN Committee on NGOs. This committee, which convenes twice a year, decides which NGOs get special consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Since the UN plays an essential role in the American Cancer Society’s global advocacy work, the Society applied for special status last year and was represented at this meeting by Cristina Parsons Perez, PhD, program manager, Latin America Program, American Cancer Society. Dr. Parsons Perez had the opportunity to defend the American Cancer Society’s application and be part of an interactive question-and-answer session with the committee. The United Kingdom, India, and Cuba mission representatives posed questions regarding the American Cancer Society’s international work and how the Society could contribute to the work of the UN. Dr. Parsons Perez gave an in-depth explanation of the American Cancer Society’s work in a variety of countries, including a description of initiatives raising the survivor profile and fighting the cancer stigma using the media, as well as the Society’s efforts in tobacco control in Sub-Saharan Africa and assisting countries in national and state cancer planning. She also touched on the fact that the American Cancer Society was a member of the Harvard task force on cancer in developing countries. Dr. Parsons Perez also made the case for cancer – and other noncommunicable diseases –  being a development issue, as well as a public health issue, that deserves more attention in the UN’s development agenda for the world. Several mission representatives congratulated the American Cancer Society on its work and in turn recommended that it be granted special consultative status. The UK mission representative was very supportive of the American Cancer Society’s efforts, as were mission representatives for Cuba, Sudan, Peru, and Colombia. The representative from Peru thanked the American Cancer Society for its support in national cancer planning, while Colombia’s representative at the meeting expressed appreciation for the Society holding the Latin America Best Practice Awards last November in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. The committee chairman said that the committee would recommend that the American Cancer Society be offered special consultative status with the UN. The Economic and Social Council will now need to adopt the committee’s recommendation. With special consultative status, the American Cancer Society would have UN ground passes, be able to attend UN commission meetings, and also be able to present 500-word statements at the meetings. The American Cancer Society is thankful to the members of the UN Committee on NGOs for supporting the Society’s application. 

 

American Cancer Society Co-Facilitates Youth Advocacy Summit on Tobacco Control in Sweden

 
Students at the youth advocacy summit on tobacco control pose as part of the Number 6 campaign, which aims to remind the public that every 6 seconds one person dies in the world due to tobacco use.

 

The American Cancer Society co-facilitated a youth advocacy summit on tobacco control May 6-9 in Stockholm, Sweden, with SAMBA, a Swedish nongovernmental organization (NGO). The summit was part of a joint effort on the Dizza Tobak initiative, which encourages youth leaders to speak up on important tobacco prevention issues in their country, as they educate their peers and their political leaders. The training brought together 24 youth from different regions of Sweden and included various workshops and hands-on activities. It culminated with a public action in a busy central train station, where the students staged a "drop dead" event to bring attention to the 18 people who die every day in Sweden due to tobacco. American Cancer Society staff Johanna Ralston, vice president, Global Strategies, Global Health, and Sylvana Rochet-Belleri, international program manager, Global Health, served as facilitators during the event. Holly Aprea and Andy Berndt, consultants working with the American Cancer Society, provided participants their valuable youth advocacy expertise. This transatlantic collaboration is the second of its kind for the American Cancer Society, following a youth advocacy tobacco control initiative in North Africa that started in 2008.

UN member states commit to addressing the growing epidemic of noncommunicable diseases; ACS urges vote in favor of UN NCD summit in joint opinion piece on CNN.com

The United Nations General Assembly agreed today to hold a Summit on Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) involving heads of state in September 2011 to address the threat posed by NCDs to low- and middle-income countries. NCDs include diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory disease and are primarily caused by the risk factors of tobacco use, unhealthy diet, and lack of exercise. American Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer John R. Seffrin, PhD, along with the CEOs of the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, wrote an opinion piece that appeared today on CNN.com urging the United States and other governments to vote in favor of holding the summit. The summit, voted on by the General Assembly today, will highlight the serious nature of the global epidemic of NCDs, which now cause 60 percent of all global deaths and are responsible for 8 million annual premature deaths (below the age of 60) in low- and middle-income countries. The summit will recognize that preventing further escalation of the NCD epidemic requires international solidarity and cooperation, and cross-government collaboration at a national level. The summit will bring together government representatives from both overseas aid donor countries and low- and middle-income countries with public health experts from around the world. They will discuss solutions to the growing danger posed by NCDs, and agree what action needs to be taken. Ensuring that major change results from the summit will require concerted effort in the lead-up to the event in order to agree to measurable outcomes and results. This could result in millions of lives being saved and a reversal of the damaging social and economic effects of NCDs.

American Cancer Society Hosts Workshop on Tobacco Control for 28 Journalists in Hanoi, Vietnam

Participants in the journalist workshop on tobacco control in Hanoi, Vietnam

 

The American Cancer Society conducted a journalist workshop on tobacco control for 28 journalists May 5-6 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Tobacco Control Journalist Fellowship Program was supported by Atlantic Philanthropies, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, and VINACOSH, a Vietnamese tobacco control organization and partner of the American Cancer Society. The training began with a press conference sponsored by the World Lung Foundation, highlighting the success of its television tobacco control media campaign. This was followed by an advanced media training program. Tuyet Ha-Iaconis, Vietnam program manager, American Cancer Society, and her team developed the program to foster discussions between journalists and representatives of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), enabling them to share key information and messages that they in turn can provide to villages and provinces about the dangers of tobacco. Tobacco control experts in Vietnam participated in roundtable discussions with journalists on issues such as smoke-free areas, health warning labels, tobacco tax, and tobacco advertising. The two-day workshop included presentations by American Cancer Society staff Danny Ingram, chief staff officer, Strategic Initiatives, High Plains Division; and Evan Blecher, economist, International Tobacco Control Research. There was also a visit to the National Cancer Hospital in Hanoi, where participants were able to interact with cancer patients and their families. A team of media professionals helped to facilitate the training, including Vu Manh Cuong, deputy editor-in-chief, Lao Dong newspaper in Vietnam; Mary Cardaras, a former CNN producer; and Gita Pullapilly, a former US and global journalist. The 28 journalist fellows will continue to report on tobacco control issues in Vietnam and receive guidance and feedback from global health and tobacco control experts throughout the year. 

American Cancer Society Hosts First Francophone African Media Summit in Douala, Cameroon

 
Loyce Pace (on right and in camera frame), director, Regional Programs, American Cancer Society, and Awatef Dali (center), a television personality and communications expert from Tunisia, are interviewed by journalists on the TV program Good Morning, Cameroon.

 

The Africa Cancer Information and Advocacy Initiative, managed by the American Cancer Society and supported by Oracle and the Canadian Cancer Society, hosted its first Francophone African Media Summit, which brought together more than 20 communications experts and journalists working in the health sector from the following countries in which French is commonly spoken: Senegal, Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, and Cameroon. The three-day summit, held April 16-18 in Douala, Cameroon, focused on information exchange and capacity building for cancer- and tobacco-related reporting in Africa. The summit offered participants a hands-on workshop-type environment that encouraged robust discussions on cancer- and tobacco-related themes. The participants ultimately developed an action plan outlining ways in which they can develop information exchanges on cancer and tobacco control and improve journalist capacity on health reporting. Loyce Pace, director, Regional Programs, American Cancer Society, gave the opening remarks during the first day of the event. The special guest speaker for the summit was Paul Ndom, MD, former president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC). Dr. Ndom also serves as deputy permanent secretary of the National Program Fight against Cancer, a cancer control group based in Cameroon, and as founding president of SOCHIMIO, a nongovernmental organization based in Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé. Some of the other expert speakers included Awatef Dali, a television personality and communications expert from Tunisia; Fara Diaw, a Senegal-based print journalist and media trainer; and Khalil Gueye, a US-based producer, broadcaster, and CNN contributor. The event received publicity in numerous leading national media outlets, including a live broadcast on Good Morning, Cameroon, a bilingual French/English program broadcast within Cameroon and to neighboring countries by Cameroon-based Spectrum Television (STV).