 One challenge that patients encounter when they get a cancer diagnosis is to have hope that there are treatments that can help them. That's why radiotherapy is so essential for this hope. Cancer in Africa is like an epidemic. In a country like Senegal, we are expecting more than 12,000 new cases every year of cancer. Around half of all cancer patients need radiotherapy, but in low-income countries, only 10% of people can get access to this life-saving treatment. Africa is particularly affected, with over 20 countries having no radiotherapy capacity at all. All decision makers know that they need to do any thought to get new facilities and getting new facilities will lead to save lives, definitely. This disparity in radiotherapy access is clearly visible in global mortality rates. For example, for both cervical cancer and childhood cancer, survival in high-income countries is 70%. While in Africa, it is less than 30%. Gambia is one of the country's lacking radiotherapy, so when Alpha Ba was diagnosed with cancer of the throat, he had to travel to neighboring Senegal for treatment. The international atomic energy agency is the world's nuclear body, with significant expertise in the safe and effective use of radiation medicine. The IAEA has been working to help countries all over the world improve access to radiotherapy for over six decades, supporting research, arranging training, offering procurement help, and providing guidance on international safety standards. It has already helped dozens of countries establish or upgrade facilities, saving countless lives. Just one example is Tanzania, where, until recently, treatment options were limited for many cancer patients. But 10 years of focused support and investment from the government, the IAEA, and its partners has made a considerable difference. These patients that would cost a lot of money to send abroad for treatment, now they are actually being treated within the country, and I think we are able to give patients more hope. But a lot remains to be done to provide cancer care for all in low-income countries. Raise of Hope is the IAEA's new initiative to significantly scale this effort up around the world. The Director-General of the IAEA recently visited Senegal to discuss ways to drive this effort forward. We are very happy to be here at the Dalal Jam Hospital, a very impressive facility. The IAEA has already been supporting this facility, and we have announced today that we are going to be increasing that level of support. The work that is being carried out here is essential and will be an essential part of our new initiative, Raise of Hope, because the work indeed continues. Raise of Hope will work by focusing support on countries that have little or no access to radiotherapy at the moment. The initiative will provide donors with clear packages for investment in radiation medicine. This will help countries get the machines they need. The IAEA will also provide the necessary expertise to ensure new facilities can continue running safely and securely into the future. We're looking at sustainability and making sure that as a member state embarks on their first radiotherapy center or expands, that they understand the long-term cost implications. So the packages that have been developed by the agency not only look at those upfront costs of infrastructure, procurement and training, but also look at equipment maintenance and the long-term staffing costs so that the center that opens will still be viable and sustainable down the road. Raise of Hope will help established hospitals become regional anchor centers so they can provide high quality training and technical support to their neighbouring countries. It will also focus research on finding the optimal amount of radiation needed to treat different tumours. To get the most out of the machines available. The research and innovation in Raise of Hope is extremely important as well because for example with some research we can find efficiencies so that we can treat more people with less. The impact of the IAEA support is very important because at this time they are giving fellowships for training staff. They are also giving equipment, but more than equipment and training, the most important thing is advocacy. The IAEA is calling for action on increased access to radiation medicine together with Senegalese President Maki Sao, the 2022 head of the African Union. We believe that together we can do something important to deal with the current cancer crisis in Africa and elsewhere. It is on us to do it and we will do it.