The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) invites members of the media to join us in commemorating four decades of cancer surveillance in South Africa and the contribution of the South African National Cancer Registry (NCR) to evidence-based public health policy. Established in 1986, the NCR, which is housed within the NICD, has spent the past 40 years tracking cancer incidence through pathology-based surveillance, generating valuable data to better understand the cancer burden in South Africa and inform cancer prevention, control and care.
As part of these celebrations, the NCR will host a 40th Anniversary Symposium and Gala, which will reflect on four decades of cancer surveillance, highlight the importance of cancer data and surveillance, and look towards the future of cancer prevention and control in South Africa. Cancer remains an important public health challenge, and reliable data is essential to understanding who is affected, which cancers are most common, where the burden is greatest, and how cancer trends change over time.
For 40 years, the NCR has contributed to this evidence base through tracking cancer incidence across South Africa; collecting, analysing and reporting cancer statistics to strengthen understanding of the country’s cancer burden; supporting the Department of Health and other stakeholders in cancer prevention, control and care initiatives; and informing cancer policy and guidelines in South Africa.
The symposium will provide media an opportunity to hear from cancer surveillance experts, gain insight into four decades of cancer data and its impact on public health, and explore the future of cancer surveillance in South Africa.
Members of the media are invited to attend and cover this significant milestone in South Africa’s public health history.
Event details:
- Date: Thursday, 10 September 2026
- Time: 09:00–15:00
- Arrival time: 08:30
- Venue: 1 Modderfontein Road, Sandringham. National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), PRF Auditorium.
