The battle against Cancer is being vigorously fought at many fronts, mostly in the developed nations. However, most (about 70%) new cancer cases are actually diagnosed in low and middle-income countries where there are the fewest resources to treat them. Available statistics on Nigeria are quite dire.
The little-publicized good news is that as much as 80% of cancers can actually be prevented outright – they being linked with environmental, diet and lifestyle issues. However, whereas lifestyles and diets are well within the ambit of each individual, it is not so with environmental factors. There simply is very little an individual can do ALONE, about the quality of the air on the street, the ground water in the home, or the pesticides level of the foodstuff sold at the market. Then there are also people who are unconscionably constrained to choose between getting exposed to proven carcinogens by virtue of their occupations or becoming economically incapacitated.
But we are not altogether helpless as the situation might appear. We can consciously decide to come together across sectoral boundaries to identify the cogent issues, and agree on effective reasonable action points to safeguard both ourselves and our neighbours. The National Conference on Environment and Health (NCEH) series prides itself as an inter-sectoral Platform where public health issues deriving largely from the environment, are creatively and holistically addressed within the framework of sustainable development.
It is therefore our deep pleasure to cordially invite your participation at the 5th annual edition of the NCEH. Come with your own piece of the giant jigsaw puzzle, and join other distinguished researchers, policy makers, government regulators, NGOs and civil society groups, students and other key stakeholders in unraveling the issues surrounding cancers in our society; and forge realistic and effective home-grown strategies to curb its menace.
