Friends Of Cancer Patients has announced its five-year strategy for 2023-27, as the UAE-based civil society organisation continues with its leading efforts since 1999 to raise cancer awareness and offer moral and financial support to patients, under the guidance and patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Founder and Royal Patron of FOCP.

The strategy was launched during FOCP’s first annual Board of Directors meeting in 2023, which was presided over by Her Excellency Sawsan Jafar, Chairperson of FOCP, and attended by Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Vice Chairperson of FOCP. The meeting reviewed FOCP’s achievements in 2022, and chalked out the organisational strategy and budget for the year which would enable the non-profit to continue developing the efficiency of its various programmes and initiatives that have reaped great results in awareness generation and brought immense benefits to beneficiaries over the years.

Five-year roadmap envisions the strengthening of partnerships in the cancer care and advocacy network, globally

The key earnings from FOCP’s 2022 strategy report have been filtered to sharpen the goals set within their five-year strategy from 2023-27. FOCP will be focusing on enhancing and expanding its specialised work in cancer advocacy and research as well as patient care, strengthen its local and global partnerships, and collaborate on initiatives customised to the targeted demographic needs by taking into account wider factors including psychological, social and economic. Furthermore, FOCP’s five-year strategy will be committed to ensuring not only the launch but the sustainability of these initiatives by extending financial support and reinforcing charitable donation campaigns like its annual Zakat campaign, which will be launched during Ramadan.

FOCP’s year in review: Leading advocacy, community work, and strong collaboration

The meeting reviewed the key outcomes of the 10 awareness events FOCP organised last year, including the Relay for Life cancer walkathon, which garnered the support of thousands of community-minded participants who came together to raise funds and awareness for cancer.

The Pink Caravan Ride, attracted over 10,000 members of the UAE community, volunteers and participants, offering free breast health check-ups and screenings to 13,000 women and men across the seven emirates. The board members also assessed the impact of the 15 visits that the entity’s representatives made to various hospitals as part of FOCP’s ‘Colour My World’ and ‘Joy Cart’ initiatives, which are specific to offering financial and emotional support to young paediatric cancer patients and their families.

One of the key meeting highlights was a strategy report presentation for the year 2022, which enlisted the strengths, weaknesses, challenges, opportunities, and overall performance indicators of the different departments in FOCP.

The 5th Combined Gulf Cancer Conference, held last November at Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre (JRCC), in Sharjah, hosted leading regional institutions advocating for cancer control. Around 33 seminars and targeted discussions were led by 50 experts in oncology and related specialities from over 20 countries. Additionally, FOCP organised the Arab Coalition Meeting to Combat Breast Cancer in July to renew cooperation and partnership mechanisms for joint activities with Arab countries.

In addition, FOCP participated in 38 different international events, including the first conference on non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh, the Eighth Gulf Cancer Awareness Week on World Cancer Day, and the Global Summit on Good Governance. The civil society organisation also participated in awareness campaigns, workshops, and virtual and in-person seminars, to highlight its services, and exchange expertise and best practices in cancer care.

FOCP support to cancer patients in 2022
HE Sawsan Jaafar, Chairperson of FOCP, said: “We continue to build on our 23-year history of achievements of strengthening thousands of people’s access to cancer awareness and treatment. In 2022 alone, we have provided financial support to more than 250 cancer patients, including 200 females, 34 males, and 16 children”.

She added: “We are confident in our ability to continue our noble mission, especially witnessing all the positive and tangible impact we’ve had in our fight against cancer through quality initiatives. Recently, FOCP hosted the 3rd edition of the Sharjah Regional Cervical Cancer Forum, which was attended by more than 2,800 participants from the MENA region. Furthermore, the 3rd annual edition of the Ana-vation competition, which aims to engage school students with a scientific bent of mind to create smart applications for early detection, attracted 150 male and female students last year. All these efforts serve the public interest, and we are committed to continuing expanding our work to reach a wider segment of society, industry stakeholders, and the younger generation.”