NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

War on Cancer LATAM will take place on September 19th in Bogotá, Colombia.

The conference will compare and contrast different approaches; to exchange knowledge and insights from within the region and from across the globe, and bring together the many different stakeholders that are needed to ensure a robust response to the challenge of the growing cancer burden.

Non-communicable diseases such as cancer are outpacing infectious disease to become the leading health care threat to middle and low-income countries across Latin America. While significant efforts have been made to increase access to care, improve treatment quality, expand cancer registries and implement new policies to improve primary cancer prevention, serious challenges remain. Recurring problems such as inadequate funding, equipment, and personnel shortages and unequal distribution of resources all increase the severity of a growing cancer burden and pose a real social and economic threat to several countries in Latin America.

The Economist Events, War on Cancer Latin America will assemble leaders from government, academia and industry to assess how Latin America can manage its cancer burden. From basic epidemiological data collection, prevention, screening and early detection to diagnosis, treatment and access to effective palliative care, it will mine cost-effective, results-driven strategies for mitigating the disease, with an emphasis on improving equity of access, the quality, delivery and affordability of care, and the promotion of more holistic, patient-centric treatment.

War on Cancer Latam is part of a global event series from The Economist Events, with events being held in London, Boston, Singapore, Oslo and now for the first time, Bogotá.