Beating Cancer Through Hepatitis Elimination
To celebrate the launch of the WHA’s white paper, ‘Beating cancer through hepatitis elimination -working together to reduce NCDs’, and further amplify the message that hepatitis elimination is cancer prevention, WHA held two events at the 78th World Health Assembly.
The paper sets out a series of policy recommendations that could be transformative in the prevention and early diagnosis of liver cancer.
On the morning of Wednesday 21 May, WHA, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination (CGHE), and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) with technical support from the World Health Organization (WHO), co-hosted a special event at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly.
Co-chaired by Cary James, Chief Executive of WHA and Professor Funmi Lesi, Hepatitis Team Lead, World Health Organization (WHO), speakers included:
- Dr Meg Doherty, Director of the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes (HHS), WHO
- Jessica Hicks, Senior Director, WHA
- Charles Gore, Executive Director, MPP
- Dr Kirstie Graham, Director Capacity Building, UICC
- Dr John Ward, Director, CGHE
The session explored the connection between communicable diseases and cancer and discussed how the growing mortality from cancer and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) can be addressed through better integration.
Viral hepatitis is the leading cause of liver cancer, but many of these cases can be prevented through hepatitis testing, treatment and vaccination. The panel of speakers discussed that we have the tools we need to eliminate hepatitis and reduce the number of liver cancer cases, but we need the policies and resources in place to translate this into practice.
The panel also emphasised that the communicable and NCD communities must collaborate to prevent and reduce the burden of NCDs globally. Further integration is needed to take a one health systems approach and scale up NCD prevention and control.
WHA also co-hosted an official side event to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly on the evening of Wednesday 21 May, ‘Uniting in Global Solidarity for Hepatitis Elimination: Acting to Prevent Liver Cancer in Support of the NCD Agenda.’
Co-organised by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to UN Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Tanzania to UN Geneva, the African Union, MPP and CGHE, speakers included:
- Ambassador Bilal Ahmad, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN
- Jenista Mhagam, Minister of Health Tanzania
- H.E. Amb. Amma A. TwumAmoah, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, African Union
- H.E. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health, Egypt
- Dr David Kershenobich, Minister of Health, Mexico
- Dr Niti Haetanurak Deputy Director-General, Department of Disease Control Ministry of Public, Thailand
- Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, Minister of Health, Uganda
- Dr Teodoro J Herbosa, Secretary, Department of Health, the Philippines
- Dr Fazidah, Sector Head for HIV, STI & Hepatitis C, Malaysia
- Cary James, Chief Executive, WHA
- Dr Meg Doherty, Director of the Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes (HHS), WHO
- Charles Gore, Executive Director, MPP
- Dr John Ward, Director, CGHE
The event was an important opportunity to profile the leadership of member states in addressing viral hepatitis and liver cancer together, with a number of member states also speaking from the floor. During the session, Cary James presented WHA’s new white paper on hepatitis and liver cancer and emphasised that countries can reduce liver cancer cases by implementing the white paper’s recommendations.
WHA also hosted a virtual event to launch the white paper for those who were unable to attend the World Health Assembly in person.