Founded in 2008 by the Union International Cancer Control - UICC - to support the goals of the Wold Cancer Declaration, International Cancer Day aims essentially at raising awareness amid the population and redirect public attention toward research and better treatments for patients.
According to the World Health Organization - WHO - cancer claims more life than any other calamities around the world - all war combined - Estimates already established that between 2005 and 2015, 84 millions people would die from the disease. This equates to about 4 times the population of Yemen in only a decade.
An cross-border killer, cancer neither discriminates nor differentiates between people, social status religion and races. It is the disease's international factor which led people and organizations to get together and organize world event such as International Cancer Day.
On February 4th, the World Cancer Campaign calls on researchers, health-care professionals, patients, governments, industry partners and the media to get together and fight the terrible disease as a united front.
In Yemen, this translated by a donation of land by the city of Sana'a to the National Foundation Cancer so that it could continue on its research and work with patients.
Mayor Abdel Qader Hilal said he wished this way to spur on the Foundation and enable it to help yet more patients and families through their difficult times.
Every year 24,000 people in Yemen get diagnosed with a form of cancer. The majority of patients will develop environmental and occupational cancers - according to WHO, globally, 19% of all cancers are attributable to the environment, including work setting, resulting in 1.3 million deaths each year -