First Lady welcomes the UN’s adoption
JOBURG – United Nations has adopted the sustainable development goals, which will help to address the prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases.
As October is cancer awareness month, one of the highlights in the fight against the disease, is the United Nation’s adoption of Sustainable Development Goals and inclusion of non-communicable diseases on 27 September.
The UN’s General Assembly seating in New York, adopted 17 comprehensive sustainable development goals for 2030.
According to the statement “One of the goals relates to health, and for the first time, includes an indicator to address the prevention, treatment and care of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer.”
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South Africa’s First Lady Tobeka Zuma, has welcomed this decision arguing that “Government, civil society and the private sector needs to work together to find innovative solutions to the issue of high prices. We need to consider local production, while continuing to advocate for the reduction in price so that all women have a chance to access these life-saving drugs,” said Zuma.
Continuing her advocacy on breast, cervical and prostate cancer on a global platform, Zuma joined other African First Ladies at a high-level dialogue hosted by the Princess Nikky Breast Cancer Foundation. Breast and cervical cancer are the two leading cancers among women in South Africa.
“Eighty-two per cent of deaths due to cancer occur in developing countries where access to prevention services such as education, the Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and lifesaving pre-cancer screening and early treatment is limited. HPV greatly increases risk of cervical cancer in women.”
Zuma, as a former chairperson of the African First Ladies against Breast and Cervical Cancer forum, played role in bringing down the prices of the HPV vaccine in early 2014.
As a result, the vaccine is now freely available in the public health sector in South Africa.
In 2014, 16 500 schools were visited and nearly 420 000 nine-year-old girls were vaccinated against HPV.
While South Africa has a number of world-class cancer treatment centres, they are not equally accessible to all.
A study has shown a direct correlation between the distance from Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto, and stage at presentation of cancer.
