The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015 recognizes NCDs as a major challenge for sustainable development.
The rise in attention for NCDs is urgent and justified, as these diseases – notably cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cancers, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases (CRD). NCDs also pose one of the major challenges to 21st century development, not least because the NCD burden continues to rise disproportionately in low- and lower-middle income countries, and among the poorest and most vulnerable people in all countries.

Over the past decade, collaboration between the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO) has strengthened cancer surveillance systems across the Eastern Mediterranean Region through sustained technical support, capacity building, and regional coordination. Implemented largely through IARC’s Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (GICR), the partnership supported Eastern Mediterranean Region countries via assessments, tailored recommendations, regional workshops, and hands-on training, leading to improvements in the quality, coverage, and sustainability of population-based cancer registries. The initiative trained over 100 cancer registry professionals, developed regional trainers, and leveraged the IARC Regional Hub in Izmir, Türkiye, while working closely with WHO country offices.

Close collaboration with WHO country offices ensured alignment with national health priorities and facilitated integration of cancer registration within broader health information systems. The partnership also fostered regional networking and collaboration among registry professionals, promoting the sharing of best practices and harmonization of methods. Collectively, these efforts have led to measurable improvements in data quality, workforce capacity, and institutional commitment to cancer surveillance in several countries.
Despite these achievements, persistent challenges, including insecurity and conflict, population displacement, limited financial and human resources, and uneven registry coverage. Overall, the decade-long IARC–EMRO collaboration demonstrates that sustained, coordinated partnerships are essential for building resilient cancer surveillance systems and for generating reliable data to inform cancer control policies and reduce the growing cancer burden in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.