In a meeting to mark World Cancer Day, Ethiopia's First Lady Her Excellency Mrs. Roman Tesfaye brought together major stakeholders working to prevent and control cancer at the Prime Minister’s Office on February 3, 2014. Among the over seventy invited guests were the Minister of Health, the Minister of Science and Technology, the Minister of Women, Youth and Sports, parlamentarians, and representatives of UNFPA, UNAIDS, USAID, Pathfinder, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and NGOs such as the Mathiwos Wondu-YeEthiopia Cancer Society and the Ethiopian NCD Consortium.

In ther address to the meeting participants, Mrs. Roman Tesfaye underscored that cancer was a pressing public health issue that required concerted efforts and action by all stakeholders. She expressed her commitment and determination to work with all stakeholders to raise the profile of cancer in Ethiopia and mobilize support at all levels to expedite the nation’s progress in cancer prevention and control.

The meeting culminated in the creation of the first ever National Cancer Control Committee, which will be headed by the First Lady and tasked with the responsibility to lead and coordinate the efforts of all stakeholders to prevent and control cancer.