Edited News | WHO , UNITED NATIONS
Impact of COVID-19 on cancer care has been ‘profound’, warns UN health agency
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a “profound” impact on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer around the world, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, before highlighting that breast cancer has become the most common type of the disease.
More than a year since the new coronavirus crisis began, its impact on cancer care has been stark, with “50 per cent of Governments (having) cancer services partially or completely disrupted because of the pandemic”, said Dr André Ilbawi, from WHO’s Department of Noncommunicable Diseases.
“Delays in diagnosis are common. Interruptions in therapy or abandonment have increased significantly,” he continued, adding that this would likely have an impact in the total number of cancer deaths in coming years.
“Healthcare professionals have been under great stress to deliver services and there are significant reductions in research and clinical trial enrolment. To state it simply, the consequences of the pandemic on cancer control efforts have been profound.”
An unspecified number of countries “of all income levels” had been affected, the WHO medic continued, although some wealthier nations had managed to counter the effects of the pandemic, including the Netherlands, where special programmes have been set up to speed up access to cancer diagnosis and treatment for those with symptoms.
Amid uncertainty over which COVID-19 vaccine might be most suitable for cancer patients, given the increased vulnerability of some individuals, Dr Ilbawi said that data from ongoing clinical vaccine trials had yet to be published.
“We do appreciate that cancer patients are being noted in these clinical trials because evidence has shown that cancer patients are at greater risk for COVID-related morbidity and mortality because of their immuno-suppression,” he said.
According to WHO, the economic impact of cancer is significant and increasing; in 2010, its cost was $1.16 trillion.
“In 2020, the number of people diagnosed with cancer globally reached 19.3 million, with the number of people dying increasing to 10 million,” said Dr Ilbawi.
According to the agency, there were 2.3 million new breast cancer cases in 2020, representing almost 12 per cent of all cancer cases. It is also the leading cause of cancer death worldwide among women.
Speaking via Zoom ahead of World Cancer Day on Thursday 4 February, Dr Ilbawi noted that “for the first time, breast cancer now constitutes the most commonly occurring cancer globally, followed by lung, which has historically been leading cause in most of, of cancer, and third colorectal”.
The WHO official warned that the burden of cancer is expected to rise further in the years ahead, with the number of new cases worldwide in 2040 expected to be 47 per cent higher than in 2020.
The greatest increases will be in low and middle-income countries where late-stage diagnosis and lack of access to quality and affordable diagnosis and treatment are common, the UN agency said in a statement.
Another cancer affecting women in particular is cervical cancer; it is the fourth most common cancer among women globally, with an estimated 604,000 new cases in 2020.
Sufferers from poorer countries are disproportionately affected, with nearly 90 per cent of global deaths in 2020 from cervical cancer occurring in low and middle-income countries.
The burden of cervical cancer is projected to continue to increase, WHO warned, with 700,000 cases and 400,000 deaths forecast in 2030.
Underscoring the benefits of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for this cancer, the UN health agency appealed for better availability of human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) and low-cost approaches for screening and treating pre-cancer “before it progresses to invasive cancer”, in addition to new approaches to surgical training.
“To get on the path to eliminate cervical cancer, we must achieve three targets by 2030: 90 per cent of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age, 70 per cent of women screened using a high-performance test by age 35 and again by 45 and 90 per cent of women identified with cervical cancer treated,” WHO said.
Achieving these targets would lead to a decline in cases of more than 70 per cent by 2050 and help to avert 4.5 million cervical cancer deaths.
14. Close-up, back of journalist’s head, blurred, with big screen TV broadcasting to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
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Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
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Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
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Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
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Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
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Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
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Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.
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Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur
Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.
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Edited News , B-roll | UN WOMEN
Women and girls still reeling from Afghanistan's recent deadly earthquake face even greater suffering rebuilding their lives and livelihoods without much more help from the international community, UN Women said on Friday.
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Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Rising civilian casualties, growing ethnic violence and the grim humanitarian situation in Sudan underscore how the crisis there is deepening, according to a UN Human rights report published today.
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Edited News | UNITED NATIONS
United Nations agencies staff demonstrates on Place des Nations in Geneva to denounce the killing of their colleagues in Gaza.