By Salisu Sani-Idris
Abuja – An Abuja-based Non-Governmental Organisation, Helpline Foundation for the Needy, on Sunday called for urgent action to combat cancer as the world marks 2020 World Cancer Day (WCD),
President and Founder of the foundation, Dr Jumai Ahmadu, made the call at a news conference in Abuja.
She also advocated for personal commitment and individual action to be taken to impact the future and defeat cancer.
Ahmadu explained that World Cancer Day was designed to save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about cancer.
She noted that the day also serves as an occasion to push governments and individuals across the globe to take action against the disease.
Commenting on 2020 theme: “I Am and I Will”, Ahmadu described the theme as apt, stressing that the battle against cancer require collective responsibility of both government and personal commitment.
She used the occasion to call for early diagnosis, treatment and palliative care, noting that an estimated 40 per cent of deaths from cancer are preventable if awareness and early treatment was intensified.
” This will no doubt spare so many families the agony of losing their loved ones.
“World Cancer Day aims to save millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness about cancer, and pushing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the disease.
“We at Helpline Foundation for the Needy are disturbed because according to the World Health Organization (WHO), if the incidence of cancer continues to grow at the reported cases, the number of deaths worldwide from cancer will increase to more than 13.1 million by 2030”.
Ahmadu expressed concerns over the global statistics that shows that more than 70 per cent of deaths from cancer, occurs in economically less-developed countries.
She called on developing countries to design mechanisms for drawing attention to cancer prevention and treatment in their respective states.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports World Cancer Day, is a day set aside to increase global awareness of cancer and originated in 2000 at the first World Summit Against Cancer, which was held in Paris.
World Cancer Day is organise by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and celebrated each year on Feb. 4, to provide opportunity for stakeholders to rally the international community to end the injustice of preventable suffering from cancer.
(NAN)