Mauritius celebrated World Cancer Day 2024 against a backdrop of rising cancer cases, in line with global trends. In fact, the International Agency for the Research on Cancer (IARC) and World Health Organization (WHO) predict that new cases worldwide will increase by 50% annually over the next 15 years, and 77% by 2050. This increase in cases is due to an aging population and the increased exposure to risk factors such tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diets, pollution and insufficient physical exercise.
The main theme of World Cancer Days since 2022, namely Close the Care Gap, aims to mobilise the necessary attention and resources to ensure that the rising burden of cancer can be addressed in an equal manner across the globe and that all people in the world have access to systematic testing, and early diagnostic and treatment. Today unfortunately inequality of access lead to unequal cancer outcomes between developed and developing countries, this celebration advocates for such inequalities to be reduced in the coming years.
During a ceremony to launch World Cancer Day 2024 organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW), the WHO representative (WR) in Mauritius, Dr Anne Ancia, provided a reminder of the global cancer toll. In 2022 alone, more than 20 million new cancer cases were detected across the globe, while 10 million people lost their lives to the disease. “Many of these fatalities could have prevented or at least delayed,” she explained.
