Overview
- Speaking at AIRC’s I Giorni della Ricerca ceremony at the Quirinale, President Sergio Mattarella condemned antiscientific theories as regressive and self-defeating.
- He cited the reported death of a 14-year-old treated for a tumor with clay and anti-inflammatories as a stark example of the danger posed by anti-science beliefs.
- Mattarella affirmed health as a universal constitutional right and listed pressures on the SSN, including an ageing population, high prices for life-saving drugs, and shortages of doctors and nurses.
- Calling research a social and economic multiplier, he praised Next Generation EU for expanding opportunities for young researchers and warned against losing that expertise once extraordinary funds expire.
- He presented AIRC awards and praised the association’s six decades combating cancer, noting improved survival, new therapies, and the growth of prevention and screening.