World Cancer Day 2025: Raising Awareness for Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, Advocacy and Treatment

February 4th marks World Cancer Day, a day to encourage education about the disease and its global impacts. It is a sobering fact that around 1 in 5 people will develop cancer during their lifetime and while the incidence rate of cancer is expected to increase, work is being done globally to reduce the mortality rate and take preventative measures.

For example, starting February 5th, 2025, the Ministry of Health and Population in Nepal will begin to roll out 1.5 million doses of HPV vaccines to girls aged 10 to 14. HPV is by far the most common cause of cervical cancer and is the second leading cause of cancer death for females in Nepal. Yet it is one of the most preventable: the HPV vaccine is extremely effective and can potentially prevent over 90% of HPV-associated cancers. Initiatives like these provide hope and inspire our work.

While cancer has no borders, its impacts and outcomes vary greatly depending on a person’s geography: 70% of the nearly 10 million cancer-related deaths in 2020 were in low-and-middle-income (LMIC) countries. The Binaytara Foundation’s driving mission is to reduce cancer health disparities around the world. Cancer health disparities manifest in different ways such as the workload of oncologists in LMICs versus HICs (high-income countries) or the amount of money spent on basic cancer management by national health services.

The Binaytara Foundation works to reduce cancer disparities through our various projects. We host over 50 conferences annually, educating over 2,000 hematologists and oncologists on the latest advancements in cancer care. We make learning about these advancements more accessible through OncoBlast, our free, CME-accredited app available to anyone with a smartphone.

We also currently run a 25-bed cancer hospital in Janakpur, with community outreach health camps scheduled for 2025, and operate our Center for Women’s Cancer Access and Advocacy, which provides specialized care for women’s cancers and advocate to improve policy change that will further reduce cancer health disparities.

Our largest passion project, and what we believe will make the greatest impact, is constructing a 200-bed comprehensive cancer hospital in Madhesh province, Nepal. The hospital would serve an estimated 20,000 patients per year, bringing access to a population where the next closest cancer hospital would be at least eight hours away. We are excited to begin breaking ground this year in what will bring hope to thousands. This hospital is built upon a foundation of community partnerships, individual donors, and government cooperation.

To learn more about our advocacy and projects we invite you to attend our annual gala on April 26th, 2025 or to support our efforts through a donation.