The WHO renewed ESMO’s ‘Official Relations’ status at the 148th WHO Executive Board Meeting. ‘Official Relations with WHO’ is a privilege that the WHO Executive Board may grant to nongovernmental organizations, international business associations and philanthropic foundations that have a continued engagement with WHO and support of its activities.
The ‘Official Relations with WHO’ designation is based on a 3-year plan for joint collaboration objectives and activities. ESMO has been granted Official Relations status since 2013. Major WHO projects that ESMO is currently contributing to are aimed to support countries to implement the 2017 WHO Cancer Resolution to:
- Scale-up national cancer control plans to expand population coverage of quality services towards achieving universal health coverage
- Improve access to medicines, vaccines and health products
- Optimize the cancer workforce to meet current and future needs
- Improve treatment and care for childhood cancer and accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer
- Promote cancer prevention and healthy lifestyles
- Disseminate WHO’s global policy recommendations on cancer prevention and control
ESMO regularly attends WHO meetings, and UN High-Level Meetings, and calls on governments to consider specific actions on cancer, including that national universal health coverage benefit packages include a set of comprehensive, safe, affordable, effective and high-quality services for prevention, diagnosis, treatment and palliative care of all noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, delivered by an adequate, and well-trained workforce.
ESMO continues to support WHO Resolutions and the UN Political Declarations on Noncommunicable Disease and Universal Health Coverage because health is a human right, not a privilege, and no cancer patient should be left behind without timely access to affordable quality cancer and palliative care services.