Recently, the City of Kigali, the Ministry of Health and the Chief Executive Officer of City Cancer Challenge Initiative have signed an MOU on City Cancer Challenge which is a multi-sectoral initiative supporting cities in designing, planning and implementation of cancer treatment solutions.

The Mayor of City of Kigali, Marie Chantal Rwakazina assures the full commitment to make the city a model of access to quality cancer care as part of the City Cancer Challenge initiative. “The City of Kigali’s participation in this City Cancer Challenge is in line with the different initiatives started in Kigali to prevent non-communicable diseases. These include the Car Free Day, disease screening & anti-smoking campaigns” she added

The Ministry of Health announced that with the launch of city cancer challenge, Kigali city joins a collective movement of cities supported by a network of global and local partners to deliver quality, equitable and sustainable cancer care.

Launched in January 2017, ‘City Cancer Challenge’ is a multi-sectoral initiative supporting cities to take the lead in the design, planning and implementation of cancer treatment solutions. 

C/Can 2025 aims to increase the number of people with access to quality cancer treatment in cities around the world through a network of motivated partners including city leaders, governments, NGOs, UN agencies, and domestic and international businesses.

C/Can 2025 has been conceived to address the urgent need to turn political commitments made at the global level into fully functional, comprehensive cancer solutions, which can reach the majority of the world’s population.

The global target to reduce premature deaths from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) by 25% by 2025 has been a call to mobilise community and nations around the world. However focusing solely on NCD risk factors alone will not reduce cancer mortality rates by 2025. Improvements in early detection and treatment will be critical.