IARC participates in World Health Day events

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is participating in and hosting key events for World Health Day, under the theme “Together for health. Stand with science”. Sessions of both key events – the international One Health Summit and the Global Forum of World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centres – will take place in the IARC building on 8–9 April, and IARC Director Dr Elisabete Weiderpass will open several meetings.

The One Sustainable Health Factory will take place as part of the One Health Festival throughout 8 April at IARC and will include discussions ranging from factors contributing to infectious and noncommunicable diseases to tackling One Sustainable Health issues in different contexts – urban, rural, humanitarian, and business – and financing public–private partnerships.

IARC will also welcome the One Health: Our Best Defense conference, hosted by Institut Mérieux in partnership with EM Lyon Business School, and the Global Health and One Health: Skills Framework Development workshop, hosted by Réseau France One & Global Health (FrOGH) and Réseau des Etablissements Francophones en Santé Publique (REFESP), on 8 April. Dr Weiderpass will open the Our Best Defense conference, which will explore antimicrobial resistance, stewardship programmes, environmental monitoring, and diagnostics. The Skills Framework Development workshop aims to construct a French-language Global Health and One Health reference framework.

On 9 April, representatives of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific will visit the IARC building to facilitate the Global Forum of WHO Collaborating Centres. This will coincide with a visit of the Group of 7 (G7) Health Working Group to IARC as part of France’s G7 Presidency.

This array of high-level events taking place at IARC underscores the Agency’s role as a unique and irreplaceable hub for interdisciplinary collaboration and international cooperation. IARC and WHO will continue the “Together for health. Stand with science” campaign throughout the year to call on governments, scientists, health workers, partners, and the public to stand with science to protect lives, rebuild trust, and secure a healthier future.