World Cancer Day is observed annually on February 4 to raise worldwide awareness, improving education and catalyzing personal, collective and government action.
The day aims to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, early detection and treatment.
The theme for this year is "Close the Care Gap". The inaugural year of the 'Close the Care Gap' campaign is focused on identifying and recognizing global disparities in cancer care.
This is to ensure that everyone is working together to reimagine a world where millions of preventable cancer deaths are saved and access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is equitable for all.
This should be true for all, irrespective of who they are or where they live.
Since 2000, World Cancer Day has grown into a positive movement for everyone, everywhere to unite under one voice to face one of our greatest challenges in history.
Hundreds of activities and events take place around the world each year, gathering communities, organizations and individuals in schools, businesses, hospitals, marketplaces, parks, community halls, places of worship, in the streets and online, this act as a powerful reminder that we all have a role to play in reducing the global impact of cancer.
Many people who seek cancer care hit barriers at every turn despite the fact that the world lives in a time of awe-inspiring advancements in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Some of the factors which can negatively affect care are income, education, geographical location, and discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, and lifestyle.
The occasion of World Cancer Day reminds us all that we all are together in this fight against cancer and we must conquer it together.
Happy World Cancer Day.
Calabar, Cross River, Nigeria