Mr Amano told a meeting of the Regional Cooperation Agreement for the Promotion of Nuclear Science and Technology in Latin America and the Caribbean (Arcal) that cancer is the second most important cause of death in Latin America and the Caribbean, after cardiovascular diseases.
He said Arcal members have identified the development of regionally produced radiopharmaceuticals, used in cancer diagnosis and treatment, and training for radiotherapy technicians and medical physicists as priorities for technical cooperation with the IAEA.
Mr Amano told the meeting, in Cuba, that when the “long-overdue” modernisation of IAEA laboratories in Austria is finished, the agency will be able to deliver improved services to member states to make food safer, improve control of harmful insect pests, and maximise the benefits of new radiation technology for cancer treatment.
He said a current five-year plan includes a focus on “strengthening national cancer control programmes”.
