C
ancer accounted for 13% of all deaths in 2008 (7.6
million people) and about 70% of these deaths
occurred in low- and middle-income countries. This
is projected to continue rising to an estimated 13.1 million
deaths in 2030. The developing world is clearly suffering
disproportionately due to a lack of education, treatment and
preventative measures.
In a developed and progressive society we understand the
risks we face when smoking a cigarette, eating a hamburger
or drinking more than the recommended glass of wine a day.
We are inundated with advice about the best foods to eat
and avoid, how to cut down on unhealthy habits, the best and
most effective way to exercise and the risks of not following
this advice.
Poor lifestyle choices are one of the key contributors to
cancer. About 30% of cancer deaths are due to obesity, poor
diet, lack of physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol use. In
many parts of the world, the challenge of sourcing food is
more important than considering its nutritional value. If food
is affordable and safe then millions of people would not
question their luck by considering its health risks. However,
the lack of education regarding lifestyle choices across the
developing world is leading to a pandemic of NCDs which
United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has
described as "a public health emergency in slow motion".
Tobacco use is the biggest risk factor for cancer, causing
22% of global cancer deaths in low- and middle-income
countries. Despite the fact that the link between lung cancer
and tobacco was established more than 50 years ago, there
are still an estimated 1 billion smokers in the world equating
to about a quarter of all adults. It is hard to believe that there
are still areas of the world where tobacco is considered to
pose the same risk as breathing fresh air and yet the
consumption of cigarettes in many developing countries is
increasing rapidly amongst both men and women and many
remain unaware of the risks that smoking carries. However,
as recent news stories have highlighted, smoking is not just
an issue which affects adults or even teenagers.
The image of two year old Ardi Rizal smoking a cigarette
shocked the world in 2010. The Indonesian baby had
developed a 40-a-day habit. Now Ardi, with the assistance of
a rehabilitation programme set up by the Indonesian
Government, has kicked the habit however he has only
swapped one vice for another. Instead of smoking, five-year
old Ardi now eats vast amounts of junk food and is
dangerously overweight, weighing 53 pounds. This is not a
unique incident. Data from the Central Statistics Agency
showed that 25% of Indonesian children aged 3 to 15 have
tried cigarettes, with 3.2% of those active smokers. Without
international commitment and Government intervention,
childhood tragedies such as these will not only continue but
also increase.
Aside from cancer, tobacco related diseases prematurely
kill more than 6.3 million people a year - more than AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria combined. Despite this huge cost to
human life, the tobacco industry is permitted to aggressively
NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD
BARONESS JENKIN, CO-CHAIR OF THE CONSERVATIVE FRIENDS OF INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS, UK
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory
disease and diabetes pose the biggest threat to human life across the world. Over 36
million people die every year from NCDs and 14 million of these die too young, between
the ages of 30 and 70. Eighty-six per cent of these premature deaths are in developing
countries and result in US$ 7 trillion worth of economic loss. Furthermore, their impact
means that millions of people are excluded from the labour market and ergo, from
making a contribution to their national economies. In this way, NCDs are a direct
opponent of economic growth in developing countries. Despite their obvious impact on
development, NCDs were not directly combatted as part of the Millennium Development
Goals. The post-2015 agenda must see a concerted and collaborative effort to combat
NCDs, specifically in relation to cancer.
CANCER CONTROL PLANNING
12 CANCER CONTROL 2014