Abstract:
Cancer is one of the major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include cardiovascular
diseases, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. Together they cause over 60% of total
global mortality every year. It is estimated that cancer kills over 7.9 million people globally
every year constituting close to 13% of total deaths worldwide. While communicable
diseases still remain the leading killers in many developing countries, the incidence and
mortality from non-communicable diseases is rising rapidly. This has resulted in a ‘double
burden’ of diseases, which is imposing strain on existing health system
