Cancer kills more than seven million people a year throughout the world. This is more than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined, and African countries - which carry a large part of the burden - are the least able of all developing countries to cope with the challenges it presents, says a consortium of international cancer organisations.

Cancer is no longer just a disease of western nations with ageing populations, it afflicts the young and the old alike, and is now clearly a rising concern in the poorest countries on earth, who stand to lose millions of lives unless action is taken.

Around 200-million children, including many in South Africa, fail to meet their full developmental potential because of the debilitating impact of poverty '€“ contributing to a cycle where poor countries remain poor.