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IAEA calls for more cooperation in fighting global cancer
With some countries far advanced and in a position to offer support to their neighbours, the International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday (27 April) called for more information exchange and capacity building among its Member States
in the fight against global cancer.
In a speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the three-day International Conference on Radiation Oncology (ICARO), which started at IAEA headquarters in Vienna on Monday, Ana Maria Cetto, the IAEA’s Deputy Director General for Technical Cooperation said that ‘working together, countries can rid the world of the scourge of cancer.’
Leading 132 projects in the area of human health and a budget of some $25 million in direct contributions from Member States, Cetto announced a further $30 million in pledges from Member States in government cost sharing and extrabudgetary funds to support activities in this area. Project objectives range from infrastructure establishment or upgrades of radiotherapy centres to the development of the related human resources, and also include quality assurance and control initiatives to improve practices, as well as peer reviews and audits.
“All regions require support in these fields, although the needs differ widely. Today, some 20 Member States have no radiotherapy services at all, with sub-Saharan Africa particularly poorly supplied,” highlighted Cetto. Of great concern to the IAEA, she noted, is the safe deployment of radiotherapy techniques as well as their sustainability.
“It is essential that the technology is introduced using a phased approach in line with the available know-how and resources available in individual countries,” she said. Participants of ICARO include some 400 international radiotherapy practitioners, and representatives from industry, research institutions, academics, and multilateral and international organizations dedicated to combating cancer.