Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for a growing disease burden with global mortality estimated at 41 million people every year.
With around 10 million deaths per year, cancer is the second deadliest noncommunicable disease after cardiovascular diseases. By 2040, it is estimated that the number of cases will increase to more than 30 million, with over 16 million cancer-related deaths annually, due to the aging and growth of the population. The morbidity and mortality of cancer varie greatly with the geographic area and the socioeconomic status. Cancer disproportionally affects people in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), where more than three quarters of global NCDs deaths occur. LMICs account for 80% of the world’s cancer patients. And even though the overall incidence of cancer is higher in high-income countries, cancer-related deaths are more prominent in LMICs.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are four key components to cancer control: prevention, early detection and diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care. Unfortunately, each one of these components present disparities that need to be urgently addressed. These disparities can be understood through the lens of the social determinants of health. According to the WHO, “these are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.” In Sub-Saharan Africa for example, the population lives relatively far from a functional cancer center, which makes it difficult to access oncologists and other cancer care specialists.
Moreover, people at risk of cancer and people living with cancer are experiencing even more barriers to accessing essential cancer services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is especially the case in LMICs, where the gaps in the health care systems are exacerbated. Cancer screenings have been suspended in many countries and cancer treatments were discontinued in Cameroon, Bangladesh and India. In addition, the relationship between healthcare workers and patients has become strained because of the high infection rate and the exhaustion of the former and the fear of the latter of being exposed to COVID. However, there is one silver lining: a refreshed awareness of the global health inequities and an increase in the demand of digital health services.
