2014 Annual Activity Report

Throughout 2014, UICC played a leading role in the NCD Alliance which now comprises seven organisations, having welcomed Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), and Management Sciences for Health (MSH) to the Steering Group during the year.

Together, we campaigned actively to ensure that the commitments countries have made to address NCDs are followed through with action, and we were thrilled to see NCDs increase their presence on the agenda of the United Nations, particularly during the week of the World Health Assembly and the UN Review on NCDs.

A personal highlight for me was to represent civil society at the UN Review on NCDs in July in New York, in which I delivered a speech stressing the importance of taking action at country level now that we have a shared global commitment.

I am particularly pleased to let you know that UICC has since been asked to be part of the NCD Global Coordination Mechanism which has been established by the World Health Organization.

In 2014, UICC’s Board of Directors set about defining its strategic ambitions for the organisation, with a timeline extending through to 2030.

I must thank my predecessor, Mary Gospodarowicz, who managed this process very professionally, involving the Board, external experts and the team in Geneva. The long-term thoughts of the Board are now being translated into a new Business Plan for UICC covering the period 2016-2018, which will be concluded in mid-2015.

We also took time as a Board to reflect on the governance of our organisation. This piece of work, which culminated in the creation of an exceptionally good Governance Framework, involved all Board members and the UICC team in Geneva. It sets out how the President, Board, CEO, and staff work together

to ensure that the organisation is run smoothly and effectively. A new Governance Committee was created to oversee this work and remain in place, as we found it to be most effective and a positive contribution to the on-going management of the organisation.

In Melbourne, in addition to running an impressive World Cancer Congress and World Cancer Leaders’ Summit, we also held the UICC General Assembly. The meeting was very well attended with over 200 UICC member organisations represented from more than 100 countries.

I was very proud to start my term as President of UICC during this meeting and to welcome my new Board of Directors - elected by UICC’s full members. It was also a time to say thank you to those individuals who will no longer be on the Board.

In particular, I would like to recognise Eduardo Cazap, Past-President of UICC, who served on the Board for over ten years.

My sincere thanks also goes to Mary Gospodarowicz for her tremendous leadership of the Board during her two years as President and to Cary Adams, our CEO, and his team of incredibly professional and committed individuals who deliver excellence in everything they do.

Thank you. 

Tezer Kutluk,
President