World Cancer Day | |
---|---|
Also called | WCD |
Observances | Awareness of cancer and its prevention |
Begins | 4 February |
Ends | 5 February |
Date | 4 February |
Next time | 4 February 2025 |
Frequency | Annual |
Related to | Cancer Disease |
World Cancer Day is an international day marked on 4 February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in 2008. The primary goal of World Cancer Day is to significantly reduce illness and death caused by cancer [1] and is an opportunity to rally the international community to end the injustice of preventable suffering from cancer. [2] The day is observed by the United Nations. [3]
World Cancer Day targets misinformation, [4] raises awareness, and reduces stigma. [5] Multiple initiatives are run on World Cancer Day to show support for those affected by cancer. Hundreds of events around the world also take place. [6]
World Cancer Day was established on 4 February 2000 at the World Cancer Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, which was held in Paris.
The Charter of Paris against cancer, [7] which was created to promote research, prevent cancer, improve patient services, also included an article establishing the anniversary of the document's official signing as World Cancer Day, was signed at the Summit by the then General Director of UNESCO, Kōichirō Matsuura, and then French President Jacques Chirac in Paris on 4 February 2000. [8]
The theme for the years 2025-2027 is 'United by Unique, which "places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the conversation." [9]
The 2022-2024 campaign theme was 'Close the care gap' that focuses on eliminating the difference in access to cancer care services faced by populations of various groups of country income, age, gender, ethnicity etc. [10]
The 2019-2021 campaign theme was 'I Am and I Will'. The theme seeks to counter the negative attitude and fatalistic belief that nothing can be done about cancer, and instead promotes how our personal actions can be powerful and impactful. [11]
In 2016, World Cancer Day started a three-year campaign under the tagline of 'We can. I can.', which explored the power of collective and individual actions to reduce the impact of cancer. [12] Prior to 2016, the campaign themes included "Not Beyond Us" (2015) and "Debunk the Myths" (2014).
Year | Theme |
---|---|
2025 -2027 | 'United by Unique' [13] |
2022 -2024 | 'Close the care gap' [14] |
2019 - 2021 | 'I Am and I Will.' [11] |
2016 - 2018 | 'We can. I can.' [15] |
2015 | Not Beyond Us [16] |
2014 | Debunk the Myths [17] |
2013 | Cancer Myths - Get the Facts [18] |
2012 | Together let's do something [19] |
2010 - 2011 | Cancer can be prevented [20] |
2009 - 2010 | 'I love my healthy active childhood' [21] |
World Cancer Day is marked by the international cancer community, governments and individuals around the world. [22] Each year, nearly 1,000 activities take place in over 100 countries,
World Cancer Day generates over 25,000 press mentions more than 150 countries, half a million social media mentions, and trends each year on social media on 4 February. [23]
In recent years, cities have begun to support the day by lighting up important landmarks in orange and blue – nearly 140 landmarks in 80 countries in 2024. [23] At least 60 governments officially observe World Cancer Day.
May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days.
World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The HIV virus attacks the immune system of the patient and reduces its resistance to other diseases. Government and health officials, non-governmental organizations, and individuals around the world observe the day, often with education on AIDS prevention and control.
World Water Day is an annual United Nations (UN) observance day held on the 22nd of March that highlights the importance of fresh water. The day is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. The theme of each year focuses on topics relevant to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), which is in line with the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6. The UN World Water Development Report (WWDR) is released each year around World Water Day.
World Ocean Day (WOD) is an international day that takes place annually on 8 June. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Ocean Project started global coordination of World Ocean Day starting in 2002. "World Oceans Day" was officially recognised by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fosters public interest in the protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources. World Oceans Day is observed by all UN member states.
World Environment Day (WED) is celebrated annually on 5 June and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. It is supported by many non-governmental organizations, businesses, government entities, and represents the primary United Nations outreach day supporting the environment.
The International Day of Peace, also officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. The day was first established in 1981 and first observed in September 1982 and is kept by many nations, political groups, military groups, and people.
World Teachers' Day is an international day held annually on 5 October to celebrate the work of teachers. Established in 1994, it commemorates the signing of recommendation by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The 1966 "ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers" is a standard-setting instrument that addresses the status and situations of teachers around the world. This recommendation outlines standards relating to education personnel policy, recruitment, and initial training as well as the continuing education of teachers, their employment, and working conditions. World Teachers' Day aims to focus on "appreciating, assessing and improving the educators of the world" and to provide an opportunity to consider issues related to teachers and teaching.
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of Men's Health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-English diminutive word for moustache, "mo", and "November". The Movember Foundation runs the Movember charity event, housed at Movember.com. The goal of Movember is to "change the face of men's health."
The Union for International Cancer Control or UICC is a non-governmental organisation with over 1,150 member organisations in more than 170 countries and territories.
Cancer Association of Botswana (CAB) is a volunteer run, non-governmental organization established as a trust in 1998. They are dedicated to reducing the impact of cancer on all affected in Botswana.
World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognized day annually on 2 April, encouraging Member States of the United Nations to take measures to raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world. It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly resolution (A/RES/62/139), passed in council on 1 November 2007, and adopted on 18 December 2007. It was proposed by Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned, the United Nations Representative from Qatar, and supported by all member states.
The Singapore Cancer Society (SCS), founded in 1964, is the largest cancer advocacy and support organisation in Singapore.
The Global 16 Days Campaign is an international campaign to challenge violence against women and girls. The campaign runs every year from 25th November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.
Project Pink Blue, registered as Health & Psychological Trust Centre is a cancer nonprofit engaged in raising cancer awareness, patient navigation, advocacy and free breast and cervical cancer screening for women living in poverty. The organization launched Nigeria's first patient navigation in 2015 and a toll- free telephone centre 08000CANCER in 2016 Project PINK BLUE won the SPARC Metastatic Breast Cancer challenge grant by Union for International Cancer Control and Pfizer Oncology in Lisbon, Portugal.
Expo 2025 is an upcoming World Expo organised and sanctioned by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), which will be held in Osaka, Japan. It will take place for six months during 2025, opening 13 April 2025 and closing 13 October 2025. It will be held for 184 days. This will be the third time Osaka hosts a World Expo, having previously hosted Expo 1970 and Expo 1990. The event will return to its traditional 5-year scheduling cycle after the Expo 2020 was delayed to 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The projected visitor count is approximately 28 million.
Pink Caravan is a United Arab Emirates-based initiative to raise awareness of the importance of screening for breast cancer and to provide facilities for the early detection of, treatment for and recovery from the condition.
Princess Dina Mired is a Jordanian humanitarian and health activist. She is known for her global advocacy on the topics of cancer control and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). She was the President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) from 2018 to 2020, and is the former Director-General of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation.
The following lists events that happened with or in collaboration with the United Nations and its agencies in the year 2019.
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