Latest content: Health

Health Ministers from across the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt. Hon Patricia Scotland KC, will visit Geneva, Switzerland in May for the 35th Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting (CHMM).

Cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women across the Commonwealth. Having been recognized as a major health concern by the World Health Organization, it is now more important than ever that everyone - regardless of gender - contributes to the attainment of the ambitious 90-70-90 target to ensure that we are on track to eliminating cervical cancer.

The Commonwealth Secretariat is partnering with The Lancet Oncology to launch a new Commission tasked with investigating cancer care in the Commonwealth.

The theme for World Cancer Day this year is “Closing the Care Gap”. It is the same theme as last year, and indeed will be the same theme in 2024, in recognition of the deep-rooted inequities that populations face in receiving cancer care within countries, and between countries.

Whilst we still have a long way to go, progress has been made on cervical cancer in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Secretariat, PATH and the Reaching the Last Mile initiative have begun the drumbeat towards this year’s global climate summit COP28, calling for action to address the harmful impacts of climate change on health.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General has called for accelerated action in addressing stark inequities in access to quality cervical cancer screening and treatment tools, which, she says, could eliminate the disease and relegate it to history.

The Commonwealth Secretariat marked London Global Cancer Week by hosting a high-level event to reflect on the Commonwealth’s commitment to eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.

Consumption of trans fat is closely linked to the increase in cardiovascular diseases and death. It is estimated to cause more than half a million deaths, globally, every year.

Young people are invited to take part in a consultation looking at noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the under-30 demographic across the Commonwealth.

Solidarity and greater collaboration between countries and multilateral organisations when tackling major health challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are key to addressing the widening health inequalities which continue to be observed across the world, the Commonwealth Secretary-General has said at a gathering of top experts and policymakers from the global health community.

The Commonwealth People’s Forum — the largest gathering of civil society in the Commonwealth — convened leading experts on public health, finance and Covid-19 response to discuss how to fund resilient national health systems in the wake of the pandemic.

Cancer survivors were given the unique opportunity to share their journeys with spouses and partners of Commonwealth Heads of Governments and Foreign Ministers at a luncheon on cervical cancer elimination.

Commonwealth leaders have met to discuss anti-microbial resistance (AMR), which poses a serious threat to human, animal, plant and environmental health, as well as food safety and food security.  

In case you missed it:  

Although treatable and preventable, cervical cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in some countries. Leading experts have called on governments to accelerate cervical cancer elimination efforts across the Commonwealth, where it is estimated that one woman will die of cervical cancer every three minutes if no action is taken by 2030.

As we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, access to essential health services must be a priority. On International Day of Action for Women’s Health, we call on governments to urgently address the increasing inequities women face when seeking healthcare

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland QC, addressed the World Health Assembly, making a strong case for vaccine equity and unity in delivering resilience in health systems following the COVID-19 pandemic and aiding a faster economic recovery.

Health Ministers from the Commonwealth have issued a joint statement on post-COVID recovery efforts following the conclusion of their annual meeting. They agreed to collaborate on several key issues including vaccine equity, building resilient health systems, and bolstering health security through harnessing digital technology.

In 2018, Commonwealth leaders committed to halving malaria by 2023. Despite significant efforts to maintain malaria programming through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commonwealth is off-track to meet that commitment, the 2022 Commonwealth Malaria Report has revealed