World Cancer Day 2020: Reviewing Accomplishments and Planning for Progress

• Following IAEA support in the training of oncology nurses, radiotherapists and other medical professionals, on 18 August, Tajikistan’s second radiotherapy centre opened. Based in the Sughd Region, the new centre means  that cancer patients in the region no longer have to travel over 300 kilometres of mountainous roads to reach the country’s only other operational radiotherapy clinic in Dushanbe.
• The IAEA has supported over 20 cancer-related national and regional projects in Latin America and the Caribbean, which has led to the delivery of brachytherapy systems, the launch of a unique Master’s programme in advanced radiotherapy and the training of over 100 Fellows to deliver radiotherapy and nuclear medicine services effectively.
• The IAEA entered into partnership with the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, United States, to combat childhood cancers in developing countries, where children are four times more likely to die of the disease than in high-income countries, due to a lack of affordable treatment and quality care options. The partnership will raise awareness of childhood cancers, mobilize resources and to coordinate further training for radiotherapy professionals.
• Following the 2016 breakdown of Uganda’s single operating radiotherapy machine, the IAEA supported the resumption of radiotherapy services in the country. The IAEA’s Human Health Programme works to deliver a holistic approach to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, by coordinating the use of nuclear techniques to prevent, diagnose and treat patients.
• Following scientific breakthroughs in the fields of imaging research, treatment planning and dose delivery, the IAEA is increasingly supporting the deployment of image-guided brachytherapy, which has led to better outcomes and a higher quality of life for patients.

In collaboration with the WHO and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the IAEA also conducts imPACT Reviews to evaluate a country’s capacities and needs, as part of comprehensive cancer control programme, through its Division of the Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT).

• In September 2019, the IAEA and the Islamic Development Bank launched the Partnership to Increase Access to Diagnostics and Treatment of Women’s Cancers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, a new initiative which has mobilized an initial tranche of US$10 million in grant funding in support of breast and cervical cancer control programmes.
• In August 2019, the IAEA conducted its 100th imPACT Review mission in Burkina Faso to examine the country’s readiness to provide cancer care services and to share recommendations with Burkinabé counterparts for the formulation of a national cancer control programme.
• Finally, public health policy coordinators from seven countries in the African region met with IAEA experts to begin planning and eventually delivering sustainable radiotherapy services by exploring novel approaches to knowledge management, capacity building and procurement.