Our Global Network

Since its foundation in 1982, the WCRF global network has been dedicated to the prevention of cancer. All the members of the global network have the same mission: to prevent cancer worldwide.

Cancer is a global disease. Some types of cancer are more common in the developed countries of Europe, North America and elsewhere. Other types are more common in Africa and Asia and other lower income parts of the world.

These are among the many compelling reasons why it is necessary to study cancer from a global perspective in order to understand how best to prevent cancer in any one country.

The WCRF global network consists of WCRF International and its member organisations. These are national charities based in the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, France and Hong Kong.

Each member organisation is supported by donations from the public and is independent of government. Each is a separate legal entity, responsible to its own board, accountable to the donors who support it. All member organisations determine their own programmes, which are designed to be most effective in national and local environments. Through their national education and research programmes, a primary goal is to help promote changes that will decrease rates of cancer incidence. WCRF International provides each member with financial, operational and scientific services and support.

From its beginnings in the early 1980s, the WCRF global network has consistently been a pioneer and a leader of research and education on food, nutrition, physical activity and the prevention of cancer. The network has a special commitment to the creation of the most reliable science-based recommendations and their translation into messages that form the basis for action by professionals, communities, families and individuals.

AICR
Founded in Washington, DC in 1982, the American Institute for Cancer Research was the first organisation to focus exclusively on the link between diet, nutrition and cancer, and eventually became the first member of the WCRF global network. When AICR was first founded, many scoffed at the idea that diet could influence cancer risk, but an increasing body of scientific evidence over the years has supported and confirmed AICR’s position. As a result, AICR has grown into the leading charity in this field in the USA, funding research and providing a wide range of education programmes.

AICR supports scientific research into the role of diet, physical activity and weight management in the prevention, treatment and survival of cancer. Since 1982, the Institute has fostered innovative research on the diet-cancer link and provided initial funding for many seminal projects. It has drawn scientists to the field and attracted additional funds from other sources to support this work. To date, AICR has provided more than $86 million in research funding.

For AICR, research into the relationship of diet, physical activity and weight management to cancer leads directly to educational programmes that can help people make the choices that lower their chances of developing cancer. AICR’s education programmes and recommendations are based on a wide body of current scientific evidence and have informed and empowered millions of Americans to take action for cancer prevention.

WCRF UK
World Cancer Research Fund UK became the second member of the global network when it was established in 1990. Based in London, it is the UK's leading charity in the field of diet, physical activity and cancer prevention.

It funds research into the links between lifestyle and cancer risk at universities and research centres in the UK and overseas.

It also funds an education programme that helps spread the message that cancer is a largely preventable disease. This includes a newsletter for health professionals, publications for our supporters and the general public, and a children’s education programme that is aimed at encouraging children to adopt healthy habits.

WCRF NL
Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WCRF NL) began work in 1994 in the Netherlands as the third member of the WCRF global network. Based in Amsterdam, it is the only Dutch charity specialising in cancer prevention by means of food, nutrition, physical activity and associated factors and has already made a major contribution to this message in the Netherlands.

WCRF NL has developed educational programmes for Health Professionals, Supporters and the Dutch general public. The charity funds research on diet, physical activity and weight management in relation to cancer prevention working together with different scientists from universities and research centres in the Netherlands.

An example of such collaboration is with Professor Ellen Kampman from the Nutrition and Cancer Prevention Chair at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. The WCRF network funds part of her Chair.

WCRF FR
Fonds Mondial de Recherche contre le Cancer, founded in 2004, is the latest member of the WCRF global network. Based in Courbevoie, the suburbs of Paris, FMRC it is the only French charity solely dedicated to the prevention of cancer by eating healthily, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight. FMRC is building its research and education programmes which promote a better understanding of the importance of lifestyle decisions on cancer incidence and translate scientific information into simple and practical messages for the public. FMRC aims to help individuals make choice to reduce their chances of developing cancer.