No fewer than 10 million people died of cancer across the world in 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
The global health agency disclosed this in a statement to commemorate World Cancer Day 2022 which has the theme ‘Closing the Care Gap’.
Stressing that the disease has become one of the world’s leading causes of death, it warned that the death toll would continue to rise in years to come.
“In 2021, the world crossed a sobering new threshold – an estimated 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer, and 10 million died,” said the statement. “These numbers will continue to rise in the decades ahead. And yet all cancers can be treated, and many can be prevented or cured.
“Care for cancer, however, like so many other diseases, reflects the inequalities and inequities of our world. The clearest distinction is between high- and low-income countries, with comprehensive treatment reportedly available in more than 90 per cent of high-income countries but less than 15 per cent of low-income countries.”