It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for everyone, but we have continued to make great progress in our mission to end the suffering caused by HPV, thanks to your support and belief in our mission to prevent 5% of cancers.
Following our successes in the USA and UK, our mission to eliminate HPV Cancers is now focused on Europe, where we have partnered with the European Cancer Organisation to end the 90,000 cancers caused by the virus on the continent each year, through the HPV Action Network.
Our campaign is timely. Cancer is one of the main priorities within the health domain of the European Commission. In addition, January 2021 will see the publication of the European Beating Cancer Plan which aims to address cancer across the EU, setting out areas of focus and priorities for Commission action, which supports EU Member States. It is based on four key pillars: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and quality of life.
Highlights from this year include:
- The launch and distribution of a major new report: Viral Protection: Achieving the Possible. A Four Step Plan for Eliminating HPV Cancers in Europe. This report sets out how this goal can be realised through realistic investment and by building on good practice already in place in many but not all European countries with its central recommendation, and was distributed to key DG Sante (the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety officials), MEPs, and other key stakeholders.
Tristan Almada (top, centre) at the European Cancer Summit
- NOMAN co-founder Tristan Almada presented on the role of civil societies in the mission to prevent HPV Cancers at the European Cancer Summit, an event which brings together leading oncology experts, patient advocates, politicians and policymakers to discuss the main issues impacting cancer policy.
David Winterflood in the European Parliament on World Cancer Day.
- We met representatives and advocating stakeholders involved with the Beating Cancer Plan including DG Sante (the Director General for Health), and the EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides, and presented our case for action.
- The HPV Action Network presented to the European Parliament’s Special Committee on Beating Cancers (BECA) in a hearing on cancer-related lifestyle risk factors, and called for gender-neutral HPV vaccination programmes across Europe, a call to action supported by MEPs in attendance. The Committee were also sent copies of the HPV Action Network's Viral Protection report.
- Friends and colleagues came together to take on the Anieresman triathlon for NOMAN, competing in a 1.5km swim, 49km cycle and 13km run in the name of preventing 5% of cancers.
In 2021 we will continue in this vein, identifying actions specific to EU member states, collaborating with WHO on addressing vaccine hesitancy, and responding to Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan in order to prevent the needless suffering caused by this devastating virus.
Thank you for your support.