Anne Lise Ryal en el Congreso Mundial contra el Cáncer

Un llamado para integrar las enfermedades crónicas en la preparación y respuesta ante pandemias

18 de octubre de 2022

  • Anne-Lise Ryel, NCDA President 

    Talking Points 

    UICC World Cancer Congress, October 2022 

    Plenary Session – Building Back Better for Cancer Control - Tuesday 18th October 2022 

    50 minute panel, 5 panellists 

    5 minute opening intervention 

     

     

    • I’m Anne-Lise Ryel, President of the NCD Alliance, former Secretary General of the Norwegian Cancer Society, and a cancer survivor. 

    • I know first-hand what goes along with living with an NCD – there is a lot of fear and anxiety. People living with cancer and other NCDs have to manage these emotions as we manage our disease on a daily basis, the best we can. But during the pandemic, for many millions of people, it all became so much harder. Why? 

    • For some, NCD services were disrupted or shut down altogether. For others, their treatment became unavailable due to strained health systems and broken supply chains. For those in more remote areas, public transport stopped during lockdowns meant not being able to travel to a local clinic. Many were simply too frightened to go out and risk infection, having to isolate at home for long periods of time away from loved ones.  

    • Take yourself back to the height of the pandemic in 2020 when our lives were turned upside down, and put on top of that living with cancer and not knowing if you will have access to the treatment you need to survive next month, next week, or tomorrow?  

    • It was also so much harder for people living with NCDs because we were the ones who were more susceptible to developing severe COVID. People with cancer, diabetes, obesity and heart disease were and continue to be at higher risk of hospitalisation, complications and untimely death from COVID 

    • From the last 2+ years it is very clear that diseases do not respect the categories we impose on them in global healthcommunicable and non-communicable. An infectious coronavirus and non-communicable diseases like cancer combined and fuelled one another into a deadly mix, resulting in millions of lives lost  

    • And as is far too often the case, this deadly mix was shouldered particularly by the poorest, most vulnerable populations. Where you live, your level of deprivation, and the colour of your skin were important factors in the risk of exposure and the severity of COVID outcomes, along with access to COVID vaccines. Inequity is deadly and we have to tackle the structural factors underlying epidemics that go well beyond the medical and health sector.   

    • The COVID-19 crisis continues to drag on; none of what I have said is a past tense, it is the reality today in many countries. But the long-term public health consequences – the number of undiagnosed cases stacking up, the tide of avoidable mortality from NCDs, and the impact on progress to the global NCD targets - still remain to be fully measured and understood.  

    • During the pandemic, the NCD Alliance led global advocacy on linking NCDs with COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness; provided platforms for people living with NCDs to speak up and be heard; exposed how health-harming industries have capitalised on the pandemic for their own profits; and above all, provided support to our members and alliances during these challenging times.  

    • But what does this all mean looking ahead, from a global policy perspective?  

    • First, it means that NCDs must no longer be seen as an afterthought to pandemic preparedness and response – PPR - but as a fundamental component of resilience, security, equity, and economic stability. These 2 agendas need to be linked and connected 

    • Second, as NCDs are essentially a risk factor for severe COVID, governments must prioritise NCD prevention as a path to PPR. Investing in health promotion and prevention will create resilience against future health threats. 

    • Third, health system strengthening at primary health care level. In the last 2 years we saw health systems buckling in high and low-income countries alike. Health systems must be rebuilt stronger and fairer, on the foundation of PHC and including NCDs. 

    • Fourth, it will require smart and sustainable financing for NCDs, which remains an achilles heel of the response.  

    • And last but no means least, community engagement. As always during health crises, civil society and community groups have played a critical role, stepping in where governments have not. So supporting, investing and making space for civil society, communities and people living with NCDs in shaping policies, services and responses, and increasing patient education, empowerment and engagement is key. Putting people first.  

    • Sweeping changes were made in a matter of weeks to protect people from COVID-19. We need the same urgency now for the NCD agenda.  

    • Thank you. 

      • Anne-Lise Ryel, NCDA President 

        Talking Points 

        UICC World Cancer Congress, October 2022 

        Plenary Session – Building Back Better for Cancer Control - Tuesday 18th October 2022 

        50 minute panel, 5 panellists 

        5 minute opening intervention 

         

         

        • I’m Anne-Lise Ryel, President of the NCD Alliance, former Secretary General of the Norwegian Cancer Society, and a cancer survivor. 

        • I know first-hand what goes along with living with an NCD – there is a lot of fear and anxiety. People living with cancer and other NCDs have to manage these emotions as we manage our disease on a daily basis, the best we can. But during the pandemic, for many millions of people, it all became so much harder. Why? 

        • For some, NCD services were disrupted or shut down altogether. For others, their treatment became unavailable due to strained health systems and broken supply chains. For those in more remote areas, public transport stopped during lockdowns meant not being able to travel to a local clinic. Many were simply too frightened to go out and risk infection, having to isolate at home for long periods of time away from loved ones.  

        • Take yourself back to the height of the pandemic in 2020 when our lives were turned upside down, and put on top of that living with cancer and not knowing if you will have access to the treatment you need to survive next month, next week, or tomorrow?  

        • It was also so much harder for people living with NCDs because we were the ones who were more susceptible to developing severe COVID. People with cancer, diabetes, obesity and heart disease were and continue to be at higher risk of hospitalisation, complications and untimely death from COVID 

        • From the last 2+ years it is very clear that diseases do not respect the categories we impose on them in global healthcommunicable and non-communicable. An infectious coronavirus and non-communicable diseases like cancer combined and fuelled one another into a deadly mix, resulting in millions of lives lost  

        • And as is far too often the case, this deadly mix was shouldered particularly by the poorest, most vulnerable populations. Where you live, your level of deprivation, and the colour of your skin were important factors in the risk of exposure and the severity of COVID outcomes, along with access to COVID vaccines. Inequity is deadly and we have to tackle the structural factors underlying epidemics that go well beyond the medical and health sector.   

        • The COVID-19 crisis continues to drag on; none of what I have said is a past tense, it is the reality today in many countries. But the long-term public health consequences – the number of undiagnosed cases stacking up, the tide of avoidable mortality from NCDs, and the impact on progress to the global NCD targets - still remain to be fully measured and understood.  

        • During the pandemic, the NCD Alliance led global advocacy on linking NCDs with COVID-19 and pandemic preparedness; provided platforms for people living with NCDs to speak up and be heard; exposed how health-harming industries have capitalised on the pandemic for their own profits; and above all, provided support to our members and alliances during these challenging times.  

        • But what does this all mean looking ahead, from a global policy perspective?  

        • First, it means that NCDs must no longer be seen as an afterthought to pandemic preparedness and response – PPR - but as a fundamental component of resilience, security, equity, and economic stability. These 2 agendas need to be linked and connected 

        • Second, as NCDs are essentially a risk factor for severe COVID, governments must prioritise NCD prevention as a path to PPR. Investing in health promotion and prevention will create resilience against future health threats. 

        • Third, health system strengthening at primary health care level. In the last 2 years we saw health systems buckling in high and low-income countries alike. Health systems must be rebuilt stronger and fairer, on the foundation of PHC and including NCDs. 

        • Fourth, it will require smart and sustainable financing for NCDs, which remains an achilles heel of the response.  

        • And last but no means least, community engagement. As always during health crises, civil society and community groups have played a critical role, stepping in where governments have not. So supporting, investing and making space for civil society, communities and people living with NCDs in shaping policies, services and responses, and increasing patient education, empowerment and engagement is key. Putting people first.  

        • Sweeping changes were made in a matter of weeks to protect people from COVID-19. We need the same urgency now for the NCD agenda.  

        • Thank you. 

Declaración de Anne Lise Ryel, presidenta de la Alianza de ENT (NCDA)

Martes 18 de octubre de 2022, Congreso Mundial del Cáncer de la UICC 2022

Soy Anne Lise Ryel, presidenta de la Alianza de ENT (NCD Alliance), exsecretaria general de la Sociedad Noruega del Cáncer y sobreviviente de cáncer.
 
De primera mano, sé lo que implica vivir con una ENT: mucho miedo y ansiedad. Las personas que vivimos con cáncer y otras ENT tenemos que manejar estas emociones como manejamos nuestra enfermedad: a diario, lo mejor que podamos. Pero durante la pandemia, para muchos millones de personas, todo se volvió mucho más difícil. ¿Por qué?
 
Para algunas personas, los servicios de ENT fueron interrumpidos o cerrados por completo. Para otras, su tratamiento dejó de estar disponible debido a la sobrecarga de los sistemas de salud y las cadenas de suministro rotas. Para aquellas personas en áreas más remotas, el transporte público detenido durante los cierres implicó que no pudieran viajar a una clínica local. Muchas simplemente estaban demasiado asustadas para salir y correr el riesgo de infectarse, teniendo que aislarse en casa durante largos períodos de tiempo, muchas veces lejos de sus seres queridos.
 
Volvamos al punto álgido de la pandemia en 2020, cuando nuestras vidas se pusieron patas par arriba, y además de eso, estar viviendo con cáncer y no saber si conseguirás ese tratamiento que necesitas para sobrevivir el próximo mes, la próxima semana o ¿el próximo día?
 
Fue mucho más difícil para las personas que vivíamos con ENT porque éramos los más susceptibles a desarrollar una COVID-19 grave. Las personas con cáncer, diabetes, obesidad y enfermedades cardíacas tenían y continúan teniendo un mayor riesgo de hospitalización, complicaciones y muerte prematura por COVID-19.
 
Desde los últimos 2 años o más, quedó muy claro que las enfermedades no respetan las categorías que les imponemos en la salud global: transmisibles y no transmisibles. Un coronavirus infeccioso y las enfermedades no transmisibles, como el cáncer, se combinaron y se alimentaron mutuamente en una mezcla mortal, lo que resultó en la pérdida de millones de vidas.
 
Y como suele ser el caso, esta mezcla mortal recayó sobre los hombros de las poblaciones más pobres y vulnerables. El lugar donde se vive, el nivel de privación y el color de la piel fueron factores importantes en el riesgo de exposición y la gravedad de los resultados de la COVID, aunado al poco acceso a las vacunas contra la COVID. La inequidad es mortal y tenemos que abordar los factores estructurales que subyacen a las epidemias y que van mucho más allá del sector médico y de la salud.
 
La crisis de la COVID-19 continúa prolongándose; nada de lo que he dicho aquí es en tiempo pasado, es la realidad hoy para muchos países. Pero las consecuencias a largo plazo para la salud pública (la cantidad de casos no diagnosticados que se acumulan, la marea de mortalidad evitable por ENT y el impacto en los avances hacia los objetivos globales de ENT) aún deben medirse y comprenderse por completo.
 
Durante la pandemia, la Alianza de ENT lideró la incidencia mundial para vincular las ENT con la COVID-19 y la preparación para una pandemia; proporcionó plataformas para que las personas que viven con ENT hablaran y fueran escuchadas; expuso cómo las industrias dañinas para la salud han capitalizado la pandemia para sus propios beneficios; y, sobre todo, brindó apoyo a nuestros miembros y alianzas durante estos tiempos difíciles.
 
Pero, ¿qué significa todo esto mirando hacia el futuro, desde una perspectiva de política a nivel mundial?
 
En primer lugar, significa que las ENT ya no deben verse como una ocurrencia tardía en la preparación y respuesta ante una pandemia, sino como un componente fundamental de la resiliencia, la seguridad, la equidad y la estabilidad económica. Estas dos agendas necesitan estar vinculadas y conectadas.
 
En segundo lugar, dado que las ENT son esencialmente un factor de riesgo de COVID grave, los gobiernos deben priorizar la prevención de las ENT como un camino hacia la preparación y respuesta a pandemias. Invertir en la promoción y prevención de la salud creará resiliencia frente a futuras amenazas para la salud.
 
En tercer lugar, el fortalecimiento del sistema de salud en el nivel de atención primaria de salud (APS). En los últimos 2 años, vimos que los sistemas de salud colapsaron tanto en países de ingresos altos como bajos. Los sistemas de salud deben reconstruirse más fuertes y más justos, sobre la base de la APS e incluyendo las ENT.
 
En cuarto lugar, se requiere de una financiación inteligente y sostenible para las ENT, que sigue siendo el talón de Aquiles de la respuesta.
 
Y por último, pero no menos importante, la participación de la comunidad. Como siempre durante las crisis de salud, la sociedad civil y los grupos comunitarios han jugado un papel fundamental, interviniendo donde los gobiernos no lo han hecho. Por lo tanto, es fundamental apoyar, invertir y crear espacio para la sociedad civil, las comunidades y las personas que viven con ENT en la elaboración de políticas, servicios y respuestas, y aumentar la educación, el empoderamiento y la participación de las y los pacientes. Hay que poner a las personas en primer lugar.
 
Se realizaron cambios radicales en cuestión de semanas para proteger a las personas de la COVID-19. Necesitamos la misma urgencia ahora para la agenda de las ENT.
 

Gracias.