Luxembourg’s Minister of Health, Lydia Mutsch, took part in the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit which took place in Paris on 31 October 2016.
The theme of this year’s World Cancer Leaders’ Summit was “Tomorrow is now: Our journey towards 2025”. The summit involved a round-table discussion which brought together the German and Dutch Ministers of Health, Hermann Gröhe and Edith Schippers, as well as the director of public health from the European Commission’s DG for Health and Food Safety, John F. Ryan. Together they discussed the challenges to overcome in order to prioritise the inclusion of cancer in national public health programmes.
At the event, Lydia Mutsch highlighted Luxembourg’s efforts to organise high-quality cancer treatment in the most efficient way possible. The Health Minister said that “cancer is one of the biggest worries in public health, Luxembourg included.” She also highlighted the importance of “interdepartmental programmes and action strategies in the domains of food and physical activity, and the fight against smoking and alcohol.”
It is estimated that around 1/3 of cancers can be avoided by adopting a healthier lifestyle and avoiding the main risk factors.
During her speech, Lydia Mutsch presented Luxembourg’s National Plan for the fight against cancer 2014-2018, which encompasses 73 different actions and which has already experienced some success. The plan aims to better coordinate and manage the health services offered in Luxembourg. Moreover, all the plan’s actions focus on the patient.
Finally, the Cancer Plan allows the development of two other major national plans, one concerning alcohol and the other smoking, which will come into force in the beginning of 2017.
The Minister once again highlighted Luxembourg’s position as an ardent supporter of a joint European action plan concerning health, and more particularly the fight against cancer, right from the beginning.
Photo by MSAN. From left to right: John F. Ryan, director of public health from the European Commission’s DG for Health and Food Safety; Hermann Gröhe Germany’s Minister of Health; Lydia Mutsch, Minister of Health; Edith Schippers, the Netherlands’ Minister of Health.
