Today is World Cancer Day, when people from all over the world work together to minimize the global impact of cancer. Cancer affects us all. It has a devastating effect on lives, a serious impact on healthcare economics. World Cancer Day is more than a day on the calendar. The day is set to give momentum to the campaign that will inspire change and mobilize action long after the day itself.?2023, is the second year of a 3-year campaign. The Ministry also celebrated The Gulf Cancer Week.
A multi-year campaign means more exposure and engagement, more opportunities to build global awareness and ultimately more impact.? The first year of the ‘Close the Care Gap’ campaign was 2022. It was all about understanding and recognizing the inequities in cancer care around the globe. It was about having an open mind, challenging assumptions, and looking at the hard facts about the care gap. This was the year to question the status quo and help reduce stigma; to listen to the perspectives of the people living with cancer and their communities and let those lived experiences guide our thoughts and actions.
Today the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) is asking the public and healthcare professionals to think about the theme for World Cancer Day, which is Bridge the care gap: Uniting our voices and taking action and what they can do to embody these.
Everyone can play a part in bridge the care gap – All the partners: the Ministry of Public Health, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) and Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) and Sidra Medicine and others who are developing processes and services to facilitate prevention, early detection and diagnosis, treatment, and long-term transitions, to the general public who make a decision every day about utilizing these services.
We can jointly bridge the care gap, but we can also all do something as individuals. For example, other than educating ourselves and people around us on signs and symptoms of cancer so they can seek care early, our actions can take countless forms: motivating others to go for screening services, mobilize our friends, family, coworkers, and communities because we know that together we can achieve almost anything. This is what Uniting our voices and taking action means.
The cancer care gap is not inevitable. Our systems can be reimagined, a person’s situation can be improved, their knowledge about cancer can be increased and their access to services made easier.
Source: Ministry of Public Health