Development and Disease

A Study of Cancer Villages in China

Abstract

The cancer-village phenomenon provides a focal point to examine worsening environmental health problems in China and raises critical questions for sustainability research and policy. This paper seeks to address various concerns relating to health and environment keeping in view the development trajectory of the state. The geopolitics of cancer and the geographical accountability are the main concerns of the research. The reasons for mushrooming of the ‘cancer villages’ and the approach of the government towards tackling it have been discussed. There are implications of the disease for the vulnerable sections of the society and recently there has been rise of civil society and NGOs advocating for better environmental measures and health benefits. Though government has started acknowledging the Cancer Villages, the problem is unlikely to lessen in the near future.