The purpose of this London Declaration is to raise awareness of the magnitude of the cancer burden in Africa and to call for immediate action to bring comprehensive cancer care to African countries.
It builds on the World Health Assembly Resolution on Cancer Prevention and Control (2005) and on previous Declarations from the International Atomic Energy Agency (Cape Town Declaration on Cancer Control in Africa, Dec 2006) and the International Union Against Cancer (World Cancer Declaration, July 2006).
We are calling on research institutions, international organisations, the pharmaceutical industry and national governments and civil society in developed and developing countries to unite and work together to enable the delivery of comprehensive cancer care to Africa. To establish cancer care programmes in African countries requires the integration of clinical and public health systems so as to be truly comprehensive. A comprehensive cancer control strategy must bring together prevention, early detection and diagnosis, treatment, palliative care and the investment needed to deliver these services in terms of trained staff, equipment, relevant drugs and information systems, as well as public education. Any cancer control strategy must be guided by the needs of the country. Our vision for cancer control in Africa is a model authored by the Member State, with technical, policy and financial support provided by inter-agency alliances and governments in the developed world. African governments must be the driving force behind implementing cancer control in their countries with support at every level provided by the international alliance. Only in this way can achievable and sustainable national cancer plans that are evidence based and resource appropriate for African countries be developed.
There are grounds for optimism. With concerted early action cancer in Africa is a disease that can be tackled.
There are a number of fundamental areas of cancer control that form the cornerstones of comprehensive cancer control programmes. The Six Essential Steps are: ... Step 1