MAHAK’s Presence in the Second Annual General Assembly Meeting of Iranian National Cancer Network

The second annual general assembly meeting of Iranian National Cancer Network and the seventh specialized meeting of cancer-centric charities was held in Ivan-e-Shams Hall on 1 August 2018 with the presence of Dr. Ali Ghanbari Motlagh, the head of Cancer Prevention Department of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and the members of the board of directors and representatives of cancer-centric NGOs. Devising the strategic plan and studying the National Cancer Control Plan with the collaboration of MAHAK were discussed in this meeting. The goal of holding this meeting was bringing up the issue of scrutinizing the National Cancer Control Plan in Iran by the present members of the network and presenting the financial reports and also holding the Second Annual General Assembly Meeting of Iranian National Cancer Network with the goal of making amendments in the statute and changing the financial year to adapt it with the Persian Calendar.

Dr. Ali Ghanbari Motlagh, the head of cancer-prevention office of the ministry of health and medical education expressed his satisfaction toward the creation of Iranian National Cancer Network and its systematic management and added: “Comprehensive National Cancer Control Strategic Plan was presented to all the members of this network so that the members can receive the feedbacks and professional comments due to the direct relationship they have with patients. We hope that presenting these feedbacks will result in obviating the shortcomings of this plan and therefore to its successful performance.”

At the beginning of the meeting Arasb Ahmadian, head of the board of directors of the Iranian National Cancer Network and the CEO of MAHAK presented a report on the performance of the Iranian National Cancer Network and said: “At the moment 72 charities work in the field of cancer. One of the achievements of this network is the congregation of the CEOs and representatives of charities to work together to obviate the concerns of the cancer-stricken children and take joint actions based on strategic goals.”

Head of the board of directors of the Iranian National Cancer Network pointed out the great opportunity for the members of this network which has been provided by presenting the Comprehensive National Cancer Control Plan and added: “Scrutinizing the Comprehensive National Cancer Control Plan which has been devised by the Cancer Prevention Department of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education is a great opportunity for the cancer-centric charities to specify their role in this plan.”

In the course of this specialized meeting, which provided details of the Comprehensive National Cancer Control Plan and the actions of the Iranian National Cancer Network, Dr. Kazem Zendedel, Research Associate at the National Cancer Network at Tehran University of Medical Sciences said: “In reviewing the National Cancer Control Plan which has considered the five committees of prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, supportive and palliative care, cancer registry committee; 31 recommendations have been provided the first one of which is creating the Iranian National Cancer Network.”

Dr. Zendedel added:” A specific section of the National Cancer Control Plan is dedicated to improving collaboration of cancer-centric NGOs which shows that charities and NGOs are the real actors in the fight against cancer.”

He continued that: “support seeking, capacity development and exchanging knowledge and experience are missions of the Iranian National Cancer Network and about the goal of the national cancer network he said: “Implementing the national plan of cancer control by support of the members of this network, which is based on the collaboration of the NGOs in the field of cancer, is a vision that this network follows as the voice of the cancer patients. We hope that the best support will be provided to cancer patients during the difficult situation of treatment process. “

In the process of this meeting, Dr. Naser Parsa, oncologist and geneticist, mentioned the problems of cancer-stricken patients and said: “With the collaboration of members of Iranian National Cancer Network, effective measures have been taken to support patients. Today, the World Health Organization focuses on cancer prevention and hopes to inform the community about this disease, given the need for education in this area.”

The meeting continued with presenting the financial statements as well as the legal inspector’s report, in which Dr. Mahdi Shadnoush, Head of the Center for the Management of Transplantation and Treatment of Special Diseases of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said that the approach of this ministry to the work of the NGOs is cooperative and added: “Globally, it has been proved that governments are working more successfully alongside with the NGOs”. Hence, the ministry’s view toward civil society organizations, such as the National Cancer Network, is not only in terms of financial assistance, but also in terms of cooperation.”

Dr. Shadnoush, referring to the roadmap of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in developing a Comprehensive National Cancer Control Plan, added: “The Ministry of Health, as a healthcare provider, is working to establish a strategic plan to address patient concerns. We believe that the presence of members of this network and collective contributions will be great things to happen. It is hoped that these vigorous activities will continue and soon we will see the start of bilateral collaboration between the Iranian National Cancer Network and the Center for the Management of Transplantation and Treatment of Special Diseases. “

Dr. Shadnoush also pointed out the importance of transplantation in increasing the capacity of this type of cancer treatment and said: “At the Center for the Management of Transplantation and Treatment of Special Diseases, it is attempted to improve the level of treatment by creating a well-devised program and the participation of popular institutions.

 It is a pleasure to see that last year, as a result of cooperation of the private sector and MAHAK, we witnessed the creation of the first non-governmental HLA Typing Bank, and today, by registering more than 5,000 HLA samples from donor volunteers, there is an increased chance of life expectancy for children with cancer and other patients in need of stem cell transplantation.”

At the end of this meeting, which was accompanied by exchange of views and holding the ordinary general assembly with presenting the financial statements, amendments were made to the statute of the network in the special meeting of the annual general assembly.

MAHAK as a member of the Iranian National Cancer Network attempts to address the concerns of children with cancer by taking into account the belief that the transfer of knowledge and experience leads to the benefit of collective wisdom and, consequently, the adoption of effective methods and the optimal use of resource. We hope that, with support of the benefactors and the partner organizations working in the field of cancer, we will provide better treatment and support services to cancer-stricken children.