Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The National Breast Cancer Association of Uzbekistan, a partner of Fund Forum, participated in the first Global Women’s Cancer Summit convened in Washington in early February by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the largest breast cancer charity in the US. The event was a rally around the challenge of reducing the global burden of women’s cancers, and unveiled a new effort aimed at improving breast cancer outcomes.

The Global Women’s Cancer Summit drew leaders from governments, corporations, cancer organizations and the private sector from across the world. A major focus of the Summit was identifying innovative solutions to addressing women’s cancers in low- and middle-income countries through public-private partnerships.

The participants, who included Nancy G. Brinker, the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, former First Lady of the US Laura Bush, Mark R. Dybul, the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and NASA Astronaut Ronald Garan Jr., discussed the alarming rates at which breast cancer incidence and death rates are rising worldwide and the importance of tackling this crisis together and of educating and empowering women to take charge of their health. Attendees also learned about the significance of ensuring technology and innovation partners are part of the mix of experts working to combat cervical and breast cancer.

According to the World Breast Cancer Report 2012 – published by the International Prevention Research Institute and funded by Susan G. Komen for the Cure – there will be more than 1.6 million women diagnosed with breast cancer this year, compared to about 641,000 in 1980. Estimates from 2008 from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) predict that in the next decade, more than 17.5 million women around the world will develop breast cancer, and more than 5 million women will die of the disease.

A new effort, “2.5 by 2025,” was unveiled at the Summit and attendees committed to working together to achieve an aspirational goal: to enhance breast cancer outcomes as measured by survival and quality of life for at least 2.5 million women in low- and middle-income countries by the year 2025. “2.5 by 2025” challenges the global community to come together to combat the increasing breast cancer burden. The goal includes input from leading experts in the cancer and global health community.

The Summit was followed by a meeting that focused on sponsorships for Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 2013. Last year, the race drew as many as 20,000 people in Uzbekistan.

Besides the Director of the NBCAU, Shakhnoza Umarova, the meeting featured representatives of the Bahamas, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Tanzania, who discussed issues related to sponsorship and collaboration with diplomatic, international and commercial entities.