The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
UN Health agency launches the Global Breast Cancer Initiative to tackle the most common cancer with some of the greatest inequities
A UN-led global initiative to tackle breast cancer could save 2.5 million lives in the next 20 years, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
Each year, more than 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most common cancer in the world, according to WHO.
Although a limited number of high-income countries have been able to reduce breast cancer mortality by 40 per cent since 1990, for women in poorer countries, one of the main challenges is to receive timely diagnosis.
“Breast cancer survival is 50 per cent or less in many low and middle-income countries,” WHO’s Dr. Bente Mikkelsen told journalists in Geneva. The rate is “greater than 90 per cent for those able to receive the best care in high-income countries”, she emphasized.
To tackle these inequalities, and to coincide with World Cancer Day on 4 February, the UN agency’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative seeks to reduce breast cancer mortality by 2.5 per cent a year.
To address country-specific needs and provide guidance to governments, the initiative’s framework has three pillars: promotion of health controls to encourage early detection; timely diagnosis and treatment with effective therapies.
By 2040, more than three million cases and one million deaths are expected each year worldwide. Approximately 75 per cent of these deaths will happen in low and middle-income countries.
"We really cannot avoid breast cancer if we are going to address cancer in countries,” said Dr. Ben Anderson, Medical Officer for WHO’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative. “It’s the most common cancer, among men and women together, it is the most likely reason that a woman will die of cancer globally, it is the most common cancer among women in 86 per cent of countries, and it is the number one or two cause of cancer-related death in 95 per cent of countries, so having a framework to build upon over the coming years is an essential beginning point.”
Speakers:
- Dr. Bente Mikkelsen, Director of the Non-Communicable Diseases Department (NCD), WHO
- Dr. Ben Anderson Medical Officer, Global Breast Cancer Initiative, Non-Communicable Diseases Department, WHO
STORY: Launch of the Global Breast Cancer Initiative - WHO
TRT: 01’17”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RELEASE DATE: 03 February 2023
HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva.
- Cutaway: Wide shot, Press room, UN Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Bente Mikkelsen, Director of the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), WHO: “Each year, more than 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the most common cancer in the world.”
- Cutaway: wide shot of journalists
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Bente Mikkelsen, Director of the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), WHO: “Breast cancer survival is 50 per cent or less in many low and middle-income countries and greater than 90 per cent for those able to receive the best care in high-income countries.”
- Cutaway: wide shot of press conference room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) Ben Anderson, Medical Officer, Global Breast Cancer Initiative, Department of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), WHO: "We really cannot avoid breast cancer if we are going to address cancer in countries. It’s the most common cancer, among men and women together, it is the most likely reason that a woman will die of cancer globally, it is the most common cancer among women in 86 per cent of countries, and it is the number one or two cause of cancer related deaths in 95 per cent of countries, so having a framework to build upon over the coming years is an essential beginning point."
- Various cutaways shot in the press conference room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL , UNFPA , IOM , UNHCR
As the UN Secretary-General touched down in Beirut on Friday in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, UN agencies highlighted the dangers for civilians and particularly pregnant women and migrant workers, amid ongoing airstrikes and rocket fire between Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity: independent UN rights probe
Scores of Ukrainian children are still missing after being deported far and wide across Russia and occupied territories while their families continue to search for them, human rights investigators said on Thursday.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
The UN’s emergency relief chief on Wednesday condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war roiling the Middle East, at a time of severe cuts to the global body’s humanitarian work in emergencies and “soaring” needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO , UNHCR , UNICEF , WFP
Middle East war: UN warns of ‘toxic rain’ danger from oil depot strikes as mass displacement, aid supply shocks spread
Toxic “black rain” linked to strikes on oil depots, mass displacement and continuing disruption to humanitarian supply chains are upending lives across the Middle East and beyond after 10 days of war in the region, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Friday made the following remarks on Israel’s military ground incursions and displacement orders in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , IOM , WHO
The escalating war in the Middle East has heightened growing concerns about further civilian suffering and displacement in the region and far beyond, UN agencies said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk made the following remarks at a press stake out on the current situation in the Middle East.
“The crisis sparked in the Middle East one week ago following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, has been spreading like wildfire. It is causing significant damage in Iran, Israel and at least a dozen other countries, mostly in the Gulf, with risks of major economic and environmental ramifications across the world,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.