Action should be prioritized according to accurate national health data, which is unavailable in more than
(February 4th, 2016, New York, USA) – On World Cancer Day, Vital Strategies welcomes reports that more people are surviving cancer through timely diagnosis and treatment, but warns that the growing incidence of cancer is increasing the burden on health systems and economies – particularly in low and middle income countries. The implementation of a range of policies to support cancer prevention – informed by accurate health data – would offer a cost-effective way of reducing the number of preventable cases of cancer in the future.
José Luis Castro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vital Strategies, said: “Acting to reduce preventable cancers would deliver real benefits in both human and financial terms. It is within the scope of governments to introduce policies that would lessen many of the main risk factors for a number of cancers, such as smoking, smokeless tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, unhealthy diets, lack of exercise, excessive alcohol consumption and exposure to pollution. Indeed, while smoking is the number one risk factor for cancer, obesity is now the second-biggest cause of preventative cancers.
“We know the policies that have delivered real reductions in smoking prevalence across the world – making them public health ‘best buys’ as identified by World Health Organization. We can and should apply these lessons to help reduce the impact of other risk factors. The approach has to be consistent and persistent, encompassing marketing bans for unhealthy products, strategies to make the healthier option the default option, tax policies that make unhealthy decisions less appealing and mass education campaigns so people are truly informed and willing to support change that is in their own best interests.
“Action is particularly urgent when we consider the fact that the problem may be much worse than we now estimate. More than half of the countries in the world lack systems that accurately report births, illnesses and deaths. The rapid increase in cancer cases being recorded in low and middle income countries that do have reporting systems in place mean that it’s possible the cancer epidemic is being under-estimated – and therefore under-addressed.
“Careful analysis of accurate health data can help governments identify the risk factors that most impact their own citizens and prioritize action to deliver the greatest impact. It’s an efficient way of reducing the health and economic burden of preventable disease, which governments have committed to do under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. An additional benefit, of course, is that promoting healthier lifestyles helps to reduce many other health problems, not just cancer.
“For our part, Vital Strategies stands ready to help governments build strong public health systems and implement policies to reduce the burden of preventable cancers.”
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies envisions a world where every person is protected by a strong public health system. Our team combines evidence-based strategies with innovation to help develop sound public health policies, manage programs efficiently, strengthen data systems, conduct research, and design strategic communication campaigns for policy and behavior change. Vital Strategies was formed when The Union North America and World Lung Foundation joined forces. It is an affiliate of The International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).
For more information, please visit vitalstrategies.org or Twitter @VitalStrat
For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact Tracey Johnston, Vital Strategies, at +44.7889.081.170 or tjohnston@vitalstrategies.org