A press café for journalists and civil activists held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, at the end of January focused on preventing the 2 most common cancers among women of reproductive age: cervical cancer and breast cancer.
Organized by WHO alongside the country’s Ministry of Health, the main goal was to draw public attention to the importance of early diagnosis, early treatment and prevention of cancer, in line with Cervical Cancer Awareness Month in January and World Cancer Day on 4 February.
About 5500 new cases of oncologic diseases are registered annually in Kyrgyzstan. It ranks first among central Asian countries in the number of cancer deaths. Early detection of cervical cancer can be achieved by raising public awareness of its early signs, and by regular preventive examinations and screening.
Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV)
“Since the disease is asymptomatic and most people feel healthy, they may not suspect anything. The earlier the cancer is detected, the better the chances of successful treatment,” said Bakyt Dzhangaziev, Deputy Minister of Health.
“Today, we have the knowledge, experience and tools to protect every woman around the world: this is vaccination of girls against HPV – which in the future will help prevent cervical cancer – and preventive treatment of precancerous diseases.”
WHO Representative in Kyrgyzstan Liviu Vedrasco explained, “Kyrgyzstan has joined the WHO Global Strategy for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer. Currently, Kyrgyzstan is taking measures to reduce morbidity and mortality from this type of cancer. In particular, vaccination of girls aged 11–14 against HPV was included in the vaccination calendar in 2022. In the first year of HPV vaccine introduction, we achieved a 1-dose coverage of 72% and a second dose coverage of 62%.”
He added, “I am very happy that today we are solving this problem with the Ministry of Health and all interested partners. Cervical cancer is preventable and we can jointly achieve this.”
The event was also attended by Director of the National Center of Oncology and Hematology Baktygul Sultangazieva; Chief Specialist of the Department of Medical Care and Drug Policy of the Ministry of Health Raisa Asylbasheva; Head of the City Health Department of the Bishkek Mayor's Office Bakytbubu Shamyrkanova; Director of the Republican Center for Health Promotion and Mass Communication Nurila Altymysheva; Director of the Republican Center for Immunoprophylaxis Gulbara Ishenapysova; and representatives of other partners and international organizations working to fight cancer, such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).