[Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/global-health-now-how-political-messagi... ]
Dear Neil and HIFA colleagues,
It's so important to push policy advocacy with reliable evidence-based healthcare information.
We have seen misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic about hydroxychloroquine and later about Ivermectin.
Recently, misinformation about Ivermectin has made a comeback for cancer treatment.
Please see the link to the article in Springer Nature July 2025:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11912-025-01704-z
Summary: ‘Despite promising preclinical data, the absence of conclusive large-scale human clinical evidence limits Ivermectin’s utility in cancer treatment. Its affordability appeals in resource-limited settings, but ethical challenges arise from misinformation, which may lead patients to forgo proven therapies. Healthcare providers must communicate responsibly to counter misinformation and guide patients toward evidence-based interventions, while supporting rigorous clinical trials to bridge the preclinical-clinical gap.’ Patel, Y., Chawla, J. & Parmar, M.S. Ivermectin in Cancer Treatment: Should Healthcare Providers Caution or Explore Its Therapeutic Potential?. Curr Oncol Rep 27, 1070–1079 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11912-025-01704-z
Best wishes
Dr. Meena Nathan Cherian, MBBS, MD (Anaesthesia)
(Former WHO Lead Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Program, Geneva, Switzerland).
Director, Global Health New Challenges: online courses, Geneva Foundation for Medical Education & Research (GFMER), Switzerland. www.gfmer.ch/surgery/cancer.htm
Senior Advisor, Global Action, International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG). Permanent Committees - SIOG
Adjunct Prof.The Chinese University of Hong Kong,Shenzhen,China. https://med.cuhk.edu.cn/en/teacher/371
WHO-HIFA WG Essential Health Services,COVID-19, Learning for Quality Health Services; mHEALTH-INNOVATE. www.hifa.org
Geneva, Switzerland. +41 763837253(m); cherianm15@gmail.com
HIFA profile: Dr Meena Nathan Cherian was a professor of anaesthesiology from Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore, India. She trained, worked, and taught in several countries, USA (Johns Hopkins Hospital), Southeast Asia and Africa. She worked at the World Health Organization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland, as the Emergency and Essential Surgical Care Program Lead where she created the ‘surgical care’ program resulting in the first World Health Assembly Resolution on ‘Emergency and Essential Surgical Care and Anaesthesia in the context of Universal Health Coverage’. Currently she works as the Director, Global Health New Challenges program, Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research, Geneva, Switzerland; Adjunct Prof. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China; Senior Advisor, Global Action, International Society of Geriatric Oncology, Switzerland; Member of the WHO-HIFA Working Group on Essential Health Services and COVID-19; and HIFA mHEALTH-INNOVATE Working Group. She is a member of the HIFA Steering Group. https://www.hifa.org/support/members/meena cherianm15 AT gmail.com