Collaborative Activities of United Nations Agencies and Partners in Support of Cancer Control in Africa Activités communes des agences du système des Nations unies et autres partenaires pour la lutte contre le cancer en Afrique

Introduction: In most low and middle income countries (LMICs), including the majority of African coun- tries, cancer burden is increasing rapidly and poses enormous challenges to the health systems. This foresees the need for urgent action and the establishment of strategic partnerships, as well as mobilizing resources and coordinating efforts among counterparts for the development and strengthening of cancer control interventions. Methods: Here below we describe the collaborative activities between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organization African regional office (WHO AFRO) and other partners regarding the major pro- jects of the IAEA's Programme of Action for Cancer Ther- apy (PACT) since its creation until the end of 2013. Results: National cancer control capacity has been assessed in 24 Member States within the WHO Africa region through integrated missions of PACT (imPACT Reviews); in addi- tion, two countries have been elevated to PACT Model Dem- onstration Site (PMDS) status and are receiving the relevant expansion of needed radiotherapy; an e-learning project, the Virtual University Cancer Control network (VUCCnet), has been established and African health professionals have been sponsored in various educational activities and three regional and one sub-regional coordination meetings have taken place. Conclusions: The collaboration between IAEA/PACT and WHO AFRO stands out as a model for United Nations agen- cies as an effective collaboration for programmatic delivery to Member States.