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We are delighted that UICC president elect Prof. Tezer Kutluk, was selected by the UN General Assembly through a review process prior to the meeting, to speak during the opening plenary session as the civil society representative. This comes almost three years after UICC ambassador, HRH Princess Dina Mired, gave the opening keynote speech at the 2011 UN High-level Meeting on NCDs. Breast Care International, who�s a member of UICC, was invited and represented by the founder and President Dr Mrs Wiafe Addai, from Ghana. Drawing on his experience as a paediatric oncologist, Prof. Kutluk highlighted some of the key challenges in addressing cancer and other NCDs, particularly in low-income settings. He concluded by calling on Member States and the international community to transform progress at the global level into national action and implementation by: developing costed multisectoral national NCD plans; ensuring that NCDs are central to the post-2015 agenda; addressing the global resource gap in NCDs; and finally by supporting a people�s movement on NCDs that is rooted in human rights and social justice. This UN Review meeting was the second time ever that NCDs have a standalone political meeting at the UN General Assembly, and represented a major turning point in moving from commitment to action and a unique opportunity for ministers to further shape the global NCD agenda, reaffirm their political commitment, raise the priority given to NCDs on national and international development agendas, and call for action to address remaining gaps. This was reflected in the action-oriented outcome document adopted at the meeting. We will be sharing more information in the coming weeks about how the cancer and NCD community can use this document to support their global and national level advocacy efforts. Kind regards, Cary Adams Chief Executive Officer Union for International Cancer Control (UICC)