At the WCC 2018 press conference held on February 29 (from left): Clare Ratnasingham, vice president, National Cancer Society Malaysia, Rafidah Aziz, principal patron of National Cancer Society Malaysia and Ho Yoke Ping, general manager – business events at Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau
MALAYSIA has triumphed over India in the bid to host the 2018 World Cancer Congress (WCC) and the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit.
With this win, it is the first country in South-east Asia to host such a prestigious medical forum.
Slated to take place in October 2018, the congress is expected to attract more than 3,200 cancer experts from 11 countries who will convene in Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).
“Hosting the congress in Kuala Lumpur will bring the highest scale of awareness to policy makers and influence cancer policies regionally to support a cohesive approach to cancer issues,” said Rafidah Aziz, principal patron of National Cancer Society Malaysia (NCSM).
She added that the impact will be far-reaching, saying: “(Hosting the WCC) would spur activity in regional cancer associations, increase government spending on programmes against cancer, heighten awareness on cancer prevention, and facilitate collaboration within the regional cancer community.”
Ho Yoke Ping, general manager – business events at Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), added that the event will create “immense publicity and global visibility for Malaysia” and raise awareness on Malaysia’s work on cancer control and prevention.
With 40 per cent of delegates expected to be from Malaysia, Ho added: “It is an excellent platform for Malaysia to engage and network with the rest of the world and to discuss best practices with experts from other countries .”
Explaining how Malaysia came to be selected as host destination, Clare Ratnasingham, vice president of NCSM, said: “Both NCSM and MyCEB spent almost seven months preparing for the bid presentation at WCC 2014 in Melbourne.
“The final decision on which country to host WCC 2018 was made after Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) visited the two bidding countries, India and Malaysia.”
Other government agencies involved in WCC 2018 and the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit include the Ministry of Health, the National Cancer Institute, the Ministry of Women, Family & Community Development, the National Population & Family Development Board and the Ministry of Tourism & Culture.
