The report [ https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240123977 ] describes 16 actions (correction, not 15 as stated in my previous message) that should be taken to achieve the stated vision of Recommendation 4: 'Communities across all literacy levels, cultures and geographies possess the knowledge, confidence and skills to prevent cancer, recognize early symptoms, seek timely care and navigate health systems effectively.'
'What different stakeholders need to do to achieve this vision:
Governments:
a. Launch sustained national cancer awareness campaigns using multimedia approaches tailored to literacy levels, languages and cultural contexts.
b. Integrate cancer prevention and early detection literacy into school curricula and community health worker training programmes.
c. Establish community cancer education coordinators within primary health care teams for ongoing awareness activities.
d. Integrate social protections for people with cancer and their caregivers, including sickness benefits, disability support and anti-discrimination provisions.
Civil society:
a. Co-develop culturally appropriate, evidence-based education materials in local languages, including formats for low-literacy audiences.
b. Train community health workers, peer educators and trusted local leaders to deliver cancer literacy through community networks.
c. Partner with faith leaders, women's groups, youth organizations and traditional healers to disseminate messages through existing structures.
Academic institutions:
a. Research effective cancer communication strategies for diverse populations, testing optimal messaging, channels and formats.
b. Evaluate health literacy interventions' impact on screening uptake, early diagnosis rates and health behaviours.
c. Provide technical support for monitoring and evaluation of national awareness campaigns with clear baseline and outcome indicators.
Private sector:
a. Integrate cancer prevention messaging into corporate wellness programmes and employee health initiatives.
b. Support development of accessible digital health literacy tools with inclusive design standards.
c. Leverage marketing expertise and distribution networks to amplify evidence-based cancer awareness campaigns.
WHO will continue to:
a. Develop and promote evidence-based communication toolkits and campaign frameworks adaptable to national contexts.
b. Support countries to integrate cancer literacy into existing health promotion platforms and community health strategies.
c. Facilitate global exchange of effective cancer literacy approaches and digital campaign innovations'
A Foreword by Dr Elisabete Weiderpass, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concludes: "Cancer affects all societies, but its burden is not borne equally. This report calls for renewed commitment to ensuring that advances in knowledge and care benefit everyone, everywhere."
I would add a fourth action for WHO: to explicitly champion universal access to reliable healthcare information, including (but not limited to) information to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Every person needs access to reliable healthcare information to protect their own health and the health of others.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org