Princess Ghida recognises key commitments

HRH Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) board of trustees was invited by former US president Bill Clinton to join him on stage to present important commitments put forth by Clinton Global Initiative members (CGI) in New York last week. US President Barack Obama addressed the same plenary session, stressing the importance of building a healthy and productive workforce that is able to contribute to the advancement and development of economies worldwide, according to a KHCF statement. Princess Ghida presented CGI certificates to two groups of private and public partners in recognition of their commitments. The first commitment pledged to create totally smoke-free worksites globally by instituting aggressive anti-tobacco policies, while the second promised to establish a home and healthcare centre in Cairo where children with cancer from rural areas can live while they are in the city for treatment. In her remarks, Princess Ghida stressed that cancer, heart disease, lung disease and diabetes claim the lives of 36 million people every year all over the world. She also emphasised the need to start the fight against the scourge of non-communicable diseases immediately, the statement said. “We do not have a minute to waste. Too many lives have been lost. Too many families have been destroyed. Too many families have been decimated. The world community is under obligation to take action now, before we have a catastrophe of epic proportions on our hands.”