In the WHO South-East Asia Region, 2.37 million new cases and 1.53 million deaths were estimated to be due to cancer in 2022. Moreover, the cancer burden is projected to rise rapidly, with an increase of new cases by 85.7% by 2050.
The WHO South-East Asia Regional Strategy for comprehensive cancer prevention and management (2024–2030) is designed to guide Member States to reaffirm their commitments to accelerate comprehensive cancer prevention and control activities and serve as a guide to promote a contextualized, evidence-based approach to cancer control. It is designed to leverage support from the global initiatives on childhood, cervical and breast cancers, with a focus on tobacco-related cancers.
The strategy proposes seven strategic priorities as a framework for actions to facilitate its implementation, aligned with the guidance of WHO on the prevention and management of cancers. For each of the strategic priorities, a set of evidence and/or practice-based interventions are proposed as broad guidance for countries to adapt and implement according to their respective national contexts along with actions to WHO Secretariat and the relevant stakeholders on supporting implementation. The strategy includes a monitoring and evaluating framework that will be used by the WHO Secretariat to monitor the progress of the national responses.