During last week's JSCO 2012 Annual Meeting, the 8th Asia Cancer Forum adopted a Declaration outlining its commitments to address cancer, in line with the recently adopted UN Political Declaration on NCDs. The Declaration was adopted at the 49th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Clinical Oncology which took place from 27 - 29 October 2011 under the theme: “Toward the goal: Finding the best way and Taking the first step”.

Today is World Stroke Day. There are 15 million people who have a stroke each year. Every other second, an adult or a child, a man or a woman, old or young, suffers a stroke.

“…..New figures from the WHO Mental Health Atlas 2011 indicate that while the need for mental health care is large, with up to 25% of the population requiring it at some point in their lives, there is underinvestment in the sector. The Atlas shows average global spending on mental health is still less than US$ 3 per capita per year and as little as US$ 0.25 per person per year in low-income countries.