Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu elected first African president of the UICC

Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu has been elected as the first African president of the Union for International Cancer Control, stepping into the role as global health agencies project sharp increases in cancer cases and deaths across low- and middle-income countries, theguardian.com reported.

Bagudu highlighted the severe disparities in global cancer care while speaking at the World Cancer Congress in Hong Kong, an event attended by more than 2,000 delegates from 124 countries, according to theguardian.com. She noted that her election reflects the historical inadequacy of cancer care across the spectrum in Africa and other low- and middle-income regions.

Global Cancer Forecasts And The Rising Burden In The Global South

According to the most recent figures from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, 20.6 million people were diagnosed with cancer and 9.8 million died from the disease globally in 2024. The agency forecasts an annual rise in cases of 67% to more than 34 million by 2050, while deaths could reach 17.5 million, marking an increase of 79%, theguardian.com reported. Most of those additional deaths are expected to occur in low-income countries.

Bagudu pointed out that cancer is tripling and will continue to increase, disproportionately affecting populations in the global south where health systems are under immense pressure, dhakatribune.com reported.

Global Gaps Limit Access to Diagnostic and Palliative Care

UICC chief executive Cary Adams told delegates at the conference that less than half of the world’s population has access to diagnostic services, with many patients in low- and middle-income countries paying for care entirely out of pocket, theguardian.com reported. Only 14% of the estimated 73 million people who require palliative care each year actually have access to it.

To combat financial hardship caused by treatment, Bagudu aims to reduce financial toxicity for patients in rural communities and support the creation of a global cancer financing platform, theguardian.com reported. She stated that unlike HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, cancer has never directly benefited from global funding for treatment. The proposed platform would mobilize resources from governments and donors, with dhakatribune.com noting that it also aims to harness diaspora remittances and lower tax barriers.

Preventative Care Priorities And Regional Research Expansion

Alongside treatment and financing, Bagudu plans to focus on childhood cancers and liver cancer linked to hepatitis B and C, dhakatribune.com reported. She noted that hepatitis viruses are uniquely resilient and that 20 million people worldwide currently have hepatitis and die from liver cancer as the disease progresses slowly.

Bagudu’s own background includes serving as first lady of Kebbi State in Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, founding the Medicaid Cancer Foundation, and campaigning for the single-dose HPV vaccine, which was integrated into Nigeria’s routine immunisation programme in 2023, theguardian.com reported. In 2024, she became senior adviser to Nigeria’s coordinating minister of health and social welfare.

Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu

The UICC has established targets to reduce cancer mortality by 25% by 2035, cut exposure to major risk factors by 30%, and ensure that 60% of cancers are diagnosed at an early stage.