Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative

Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative

UN Women / Gustavo Stephan
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Cervical cancer is preventable and curable, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively. Yet it is the 4th most common form of cancer among women worldwide, with the disease claiming the lives of almost 350 000 women in 2022.

Few diseases reflect global inequities as much as cancer of the cervix. Nearly 94% of the deaths in 2022 occurred in low- and middle-income countries. This is where the burden of cervical cancer is greatest, because access to public health services is limited and screening and treatment for the disease have not been widely implemented.

An ambitious, concerted and inclusive strategy has been developed to guide the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem.

A global strategy

In May 2018, the WHO Director-General announced a global call for action to eliminate cervical cancer, underscoring renewed political will to make elimination a reality and calling for all stakeholders to unite behind this common goal.

Upon the request of Member States, the Director-General established his flagship Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative to develop a global strategy for the elimination of cervical cancer. In August 2020 the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Strategy for cervical cancer elimination.

Now is the time to act to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem.

Achieving elimination

To eliminate cervical cancer, all countries must reach and maintain an incidence rate of below 4 per 100 000 women. Achieving that goal rests on three key pillars and their corresponding targets:

  • vaccination: 90% of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by the age of 15;
  • screening: 70% of women screened using a high-performance test by the age of 35, and again by the age of 45;
  • treatment: 90% of women with pre-cancer treated and 90% of women with invasive cancer managed.

Each country should meet the 90–70–90 targets by 2030 to get on the path to eliminate cervical cancer within the next century.

 

Highlights

Eight members of the cervical cancer team in Sierra Leone standing together outside a clinic

Strengthening cervical cancer surgical capacity in Sierra Leone through south-south collaboration

Cervical cancer surgeons in Sierra Leone

It’s not the end of the road: Christiana’s story of courage and care In Sierra Leone’s fight against cervical cancer

A group of people holding a large blue ribbon at Cervical Cancer Day

World Health Assembly endorses 17 November as World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day: South Africa and Nigeria lead Member States in advancing a dedicated Global Day of Action

WHO and Unitaid staff together with some officials from the National Department of Health

South Africa, WHO, and Unitaid urge G20 to accelerate global action on cervical cancer elimination

Feature stories

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Get involved

Neil Palmer (CIAT)
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Women and girls

  • WHO recommends adolescent girls to receive 1 or 2 doses of HPV vaccine between 9 and 14 years of age.
  • Get screened: all adult women should undergo periodic cervical cancer screenings.

Community groups

  • Educate women and girls about the benefits of vaccination, screening and treatment.
  • Establish community-based approaches to reach vulnerable people, such as adolescent girls who are not in school.

 

Health care professionals

  • Advocate for accessible and affordable screening and treatment services, and integrate these services into the primary care package.
  • Track patients throughout the continuum of care to ensure that they are being being successfully tested, diagnosed and treated.

 

Governments and policy-makers

  • Secure sufficient and affordable HPV vaccines, and collaborate with the public and private sectors to increase vaccine coverage.
  • Develop national cervical cancer management guidelines, as well as robust monitoring systems, including population-based cancer registries, to keep track of progress.

 

Multimedia

Related

Director-General's Expert Group featured at a WHO press conference on global health issues

WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, highlighted his flagship initiative to eliminate cervical cancer as part of WHO’s commitment to universal health coverage during a press briefing on global health issues.

Featured publications

Knowledge repository

The knowledge repository is a user-friendly portal providing “one-stop" access to resources and tools that offer support for cervical cancer elimination.

All publications

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Eradicating cervical cancer in Thailand: A journey of hope and progress

Thailand has made significant progress in cervical cancer control and is on track to achieve the 90-70-90 targets by 2030, particularly through HPV vaccination...

Noncommunicable diseases progress monitor 2025

The fifth in a series, the World Health Organization's 2025 Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Progress Monitor provides a snapshot of country progress toward...

Target product profiles for human papillomavirus screening tests to detect cervical pre-cancer and cancer

This document aims to set out the criteria for nucleic acid tests (NATs) to align with human papillomavirus (HPV) screening guidelines to detect cervical...

Operational considerations for increasing access to cervical cancer screening and treatment for women living with HIV

This report summarizes the discussions and lessons learned from a WHO think tank meeting on the Operational considerations for increasing access to cervical...

WHO cervical cancer prevention and control costing tool

Cervical cancer playlist

Country costing plans

Access, pricing, and procurement

Resources here will be updated as more information becomes available