Equity that reaches people
Keep equity at the centre of UICC’s decisions — across countries, within health systems, and for Indigenous, rural, remote and underserved communities.
UICC Board of Directors · 2026–2028
Experience.
Equity. Action.
I’m Chris Jackson — a medical oncologist, professor and cancer advocate from Aotearoa New Zealand. I’m seeking your support for re-election to the UICC Board.
Wikipedia profile ↗
First New Zealander elected to the UICC BoardAotearoa New ZealandPhoto: Dave Bull · University of Otago
Why I’m standing
Global leadership needs both head and heart.
Cancer control is at a turning point. Scientific progress is extraordinary, yet access remains profoundly unequal. Where resources, workforce and medicines are constrained, the distance between what is possible and what people receive can be enormous.
UICC is strongest when its full membership shapes its agenda. If re-elected, I will bring continuity and an independent Pacific voice — while listening and working alongside members from lower- and middle-income countries to turn their priorities into Board action.
What I’ll champion
From principle
to progress.
Practical systems & access
Champion evidence-led change in workforce, regional services and access to essential treatment — turning global commitments into care that works locally.
A clinician’s voice
Bring the perspective of a practising oncologist to the Board: grounded in the realities facing patients, whānau and cancer teams every day.
Equity in practice
Where you live should not determine whether you survive cancer.
That belief has shaped my clinical, research, advocacy and health-system work. I know that inequity must be answered with practical delivery — and that solutions must be built with communities, not imposed on them.
Care closer to home
As co-lead of New Zealand’s national clinical cancer network, I have helped lead our largest expansion of regional cancer services — bringing more care closer to rural, remote and disadvantaged communities.
Indigenous health equity
My work includes Māori communities and is shaped by Aotearoa New Zealand’s responsibility to confront the persistent inequities experienced by Indigenous peoples.
Medicines and quality
I helped lead advocacy that secured funding for 26 cancer medicines, and I have published extensively on the quality of, and access to, cancer care.
LMIC priorities at the table
I do not presume to speak for LMIC members. I will listen, build partnerships and work to ensure their priorities influence UICC’s agenda, resources and Board decisions.
“Different contexts demand different solutions. Global leadership begins by listening well, sharing power and turning members’ knowledge into action.”
My commitment to UICC members
Experience in service of change
Local practice.
Global perspective.
I know cancer control from the clinic, the research table, the boardroom and the public square — and I can hit the ground running.
Governance
UICC Board Director
2024–2026
Clinical
Consultant medical oncologist
Dunedin, New Zealand
Academic
Professor & Deputy Dean
University of Otago
National leadership
National Clinical Lead
Cancer Services, New Zealand
Contribution to UICC
Two years of active Board service.
Since 2024, I have contributed across UICC’s governance, advocacy and flagship global events:
- 01Finance, Audit and Risk Committee
- 02Knowledge, Advocacy and Policy Committee
- 03Congress Committee
- 04Scientific Committee, World Cancer Congress 2026
In action
Global connection.
Practical change.
From UICC governance and international collaboration to public advocacy at home, my work is built on bringing people together around a shared purpose.
Candidate statement
Why I’m asking for your vote.
In this short statement, I explain the value of continuity, the strength of UICC’s membership, and what I believe global cancer control can achieve together.
▶Watch on the official UICC candidate page ↗About me
A practical optimist for cancer control.
I am a New Zealand medical oncologist, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Otago, and National Clinical Lead for Cancer Services. My work spans clinical care, research, teaching, health-system leadership and public advocacy. I helped lead advocacy that established New Zealand’s national cancer agency, and I have consistently argued for better, fairer access to high-quality cancer care.
Based in Ōtepoti Dunedin, my perspective is shaped by working with Māori, rural, remote and disadvantaged communities; by the realities of delivering specialist care across distance; and by the health aspirations of the Pacific. I bring that experience with humility — ready to learn from UICC members and determined to help turn evidence and advocacy into fairer outcomes.
UICC General Assembly · 20 October 2026
I’d be honoured
to have your support.
Please vote for me for the UICC Board of Directors, 2026–2028.
Get in touch ↗