Perspectives on strategies for establishing cancer on the global health agenda: possibilities of creating infrastructure for cancer prevention information using school health classes.

The Asia Cancer Forum is a body that is committed to strategic analysis in the area of cancer research. The ultimate objective of the Forum is to achieve the inclusion of cancer in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations. The MDGs have a tremendous influence on the setting of the global health agenda and the inclusion of cancer within their scope would be greatly beneficial to the global development of cancer research. Although diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria remain priority issues for global health, the time has come for policy transformation. Preventive activities and measures require a long period of time before results become apparent and as the cost-benefit effect of allocated funds cannot be measured in the short-term, preventive activities have therefore tended to be given a low priority in terms of national policy. We must take a long-term perspective that looks ahead to the issues that will face future generations. Transcending challenges presented by cultural diversity, we must work to position cancer as a central theme on the global health agenda, even in the face of limited medical resources. Promoting cancer prevention activities through readily available infrastructure in the form of health classes in schools is also of great significance in terms of setting the agenda for global health. As a joint China-Japan research project, in China a questionnaire survey has been implemented through school pupils, with pupils and parents being asked about health classes implemented in schools. From the perspective of formulating strategy for establishing cancer on the global health agenda we will use the data gained from the surveys to analyze and examine the possibilities and significance of creating an infrastructure for a multilateral information network about cancer prevention.