 Too many preventable cancer deaths are occurring in developing countries. Rays of Hope is an initiative that is working to change this and bring cancer care to those who most need it. It was launched last year on World Cancer Day by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The initiative builds on the agency's considerable experience in the use of nuclear science to diagnose and treat cancer. Rays of Hope will significantly scale this effort up around the world. Over 50 countries have already signed up to participate in Rays of Hope including many that are interested in becoming anchor centres to support neighbouring countries. Seven first wave countries are already having their priority needs assessed and construction on radiotherapy facilities has started on multiple sites. My country needs this initiative which has already made strides towards establishing cancer treatment centres in Malawi as well as the development of Malawi's first radiotherapy centre. Rays of Hope aims to bring together a diverse range of donors and partners. WHO supports IAES Rays of Hope initiative as part of our collective efforts which are guided by the experiences of people affected by cancer. At the first donor event, six countries pledged more than €9 million. This will be used to purchase life-saving equipment, boost staff skills and transfer the knowledge necessary for reducing cancer deaths. Since then, partnerships have also been signed with major international health companies and professional societies to provide training and other support. We said that we should do much more to fight the silent killer of non-communicable diseases and in particular cancer because 70%, 70% of the African population does not have any access to radiotherapy because in many other parts of the world, in Latin America, where I come from and in some parts in Asia, people simply die of absolutely preventable and curable forms of cancer and Rays of Hope is raising hopes, support us. Total pledges from all donors to date are now around €37 million.