- Dr. Roshan Pokhrel, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal
- Dr. Narayan Dhakal, Director General of Department of Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal
- Dr. Rudra Marasini, Director of Management division, Ministry of Health and Population, Nepal
- Officials from our Member States’ Ministries of Health
- Dr. Igor Veljkovikj, International Atomic Energy Agency
- Dr. Catherine Lam, Director of Health Systems Unit, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Dr. CS Pramesh, Director, Tata Memorial Hospital
- Ms. Genessa Giorgi, Health attache, South Asia Representative, Department of Health and Human Services, US Embassy India
- Experts, Partners, and colleagues
Good morning and welcome to this Regional workshop on scaling up services for cancer and implementing the South-East Asia Cancer Grid.
We all know that cancer is a significant challenge to health, and to the overall development of countries. I am glad that today we stand committed to tackle this challenge through a united and collaborative approach.
In 2022, our South-East Asia Region reported 2.4 million new cases of cancer. This included 56,000 children. 1.5 million people died of cancer in the same year, an increase of almost 33% in the last ten years. Alarmingly, the number of new cases in our region is estimated to increase by over 70% by 2045.
Cancer control has to be addressed through a variety of means. These include cancers attributable to infections, reducing risk factors, preventing infection related cancer, screening, early diagnosis, prompt treatment and palliative care without financial toxicity. I am very pleased that in last few years, our Member States have made notable progress in these areas.
Our region has seen the fastest decline in tobacco use, which is the risk factor responsible for a quarter of all cancers. Six countries have introduced nationwide vaccination against human papilloma virus (HPV) for the prevention of cervical cancer. Bhutan implemented the health flagship project in 2020 and screened all the target population for gastric, cervical, and breast cancer, with provision of appropriate care for those who tested positive on screening. The global initiative for childhood cancer is being implemented in ten of our countries, through a regional network of institutions. This provided improved care to over 7,500 children last year.
Admittedly, challenges exist, particularly in the capacity to provide cancer management services. The mortality to incidence ratio for our region is almost double that of high-income countries. The ratio is more than three times when it comes to childhood cancer. Diagnostic capacities are uneven across, and within, our countries. Only nine countries have reported availability of Radiation therapy services. Cancer treatment centers are generally overburdened. Only four countries include cancer services in health benefit packages, the absence of which leads to high out of pocket expenditure.
As we can see, it is now high time to scale up services for cancer. Cancers require complex multidisciplinary care, and multisectoral involvement in strengthening care. This means scaling up services requires coordinated multi-pronged actions from government and partners.
Countries should implement national cancer control plans with strong governance and accountability. Effective prevention policies and programmes, such as tobacco control and vaccination against HPV and Hepatitis B, should be strengthened. Investment should be prioritized for strengthening early diagnosis and the timely referral of cancer patients to treatment centers.
To reduce the mortality from cancers, the capacity for management of cancers must be scaled up. This requires significant investment in human resource capacity building. The availability of medical devices, medicines and supplies should be ensured. Cancer care should be included in UHC benefit packages. Cancer information systems need to be strengthened, including establishing population-based cancer registries, as well as improving the quality and coverage of existing ones. This allows for informed policy decisions. Access to palliative care, and the care for the mental health of patients and families, should be expanded at all levels, with a focus on primary and community levels.
To effectively coordinate and guide the implementation of these priorities, there is a need for a regional strategy for comprehensive cancer prevention and management. A draft of this will be presented and discussed during the workshop. I am confident that the inputs received from all of you will help improve the strategy.
One crucial need is collaboration among institutions, both within and across countries. To facilitate this, SEARO has established the WHO South-East Asia Cancer Grid (SEACanGrid), a network of tertiary care institutions. SEACanGrid will foster collaboration in technical capacity building and will be a catalyst for countries to improve their cancer services.
I am hopeful that this workshop will be instrumental in streamlining the priorities according to specific country contexts, and in developing the means to achieve them. I am also confident that this workshop will encourage countries and institutions to utilize the SEACanGrid and support fellow institutions in the grid.
On that note, I wish you all a very productive workshop and a good stay in Nepal.
Thank you.