Category DAYS TO REMEMBER

          Cancer is probably the most dreaded disease in the world today. Statistics claim that about one in six deaths among humans is caused by cancer and that there is hardly any family untouched by the lethal fangs of this deadly disease.

          World Cancer Day, celebrated on February 4, intends to reassure the world that cancer is no longer a death warrant. There is a concerted effort world over to contain the illness, to improve the chances of survival and to enhance quality of life of people living with cancer.

          There is much more the world can do than it is doing now. Dr. Etienne Krug, WHO Director for the Department for Management of Non-communicable Diseases, thinks that nations across the globe should act upon the causes of the disease and prevent them from occurring in the first place.

          Countries should strengthen their health system responses and ensure earlier diagnosis and better access to affordable treatment by qualified personnel, thereby saving millions of lives. One of the best ways of prevention is early detection of the disease.

          The year 2018 was an important year for cancer control as the UN encouraged nations to implement the blueprint of prevention and control of cancer at the Third High-level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases.

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          The world would have been a happier place if certain events had not happened in history. Between 1941 and 1945, when nations were engaged in World War II, Nazi Germany systematically murdered six million Jews in Europe. One of the most heinous genocides in human history, the Holocaust is a sad testimony to the depths of Man’s cruelty and brutality could reach! The world commemorates January 27 as the International Day of Remembrance in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

           The United Nations devised an outreach programme called the United Nations Outreach Programme to tell the world about the need to prevent other instances of such cruelty. The initiative was designed to encourage developing educational curricula on the subject of the Holocaust to mobilize the civil society for education. Many programmes were launched to recall the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to warn people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism and prejudice.

          A number of activities, including special events, film screenings, discussion papers from leading academics, information materials, partnerships with intergovernmental organizations and many other initiatives were undertaken to encourage awareness about fascism, and the concentration of power in individuals.