By Joke Kujenya
PREVENTION AND cure remain achievable for cervical cancer when women have proper access to screening, vaccination and treatment, the United Nations (UN) has said, as global attention turns again to awareness and elimination of the disease.
The UN stated that cervical cancer remains one of the most significant health challenges affecting women worldwide despite being largely avoidable.
In a statement issued on Friday, the UN said cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally noting that January is devoted each year to cancer awareness campaigns, with renewed emphasis on prevention, early detection and treatment of cervical cancer.
Describing it as a reproductive cancer that develops in a woman’s cervix, the UN stated that the disease can spread to other parts of the body if it is not detected early or treated promptly.
Already, the global health data cited by the UN showed the scale of the disease citing figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO), with an estimated 660,000 women diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide in 2022.
The data also showed that about 350,000 women died from the disease during the same year.
UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, also warned that cervical cancer continues to claim lives at a rapid rate as the disease takes away a woman’s life every two minutes.
Health authorities have linked nearly all cases of cervical cancer to infection with human papillomaviruses.
In particular, the UN described HPV as an extremely common virus transmitted through sexual contact adding that most sexually active people will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives.
Furthermore, the UN explained that in most cases the human immune system clears the virus naturally.
It added that persistent infection with certain carcinogenic types of HPV can cause abnormal cell growth, which may ultimately develop into cervical cancer if not addressed.
WHO also stressed that cervical cancer is both preventable and curable when women have access to effective prevention and treatment services stating that vaccination, screening and appropriate medical care remain central to controlling the disease.
WHO recommendations cited by the UN include HPV vaccination for all girls aged 9 to 14 before they become sexually active.
The organisation also recommended cervical screening from the age of 30, or from 25 years for women living with HIV.
Noting that cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer when it is detected early and managed effectively, the UN stated that early diagnosis significantly improves survival rates and treatment outcomes.
Also, despite the availability of preventive and treatment measures, the UN said unequal access remains a major challenge.
It stated that gaps in access to prevention and care have resulted in higher rates of cervical cancer incidence and mortality in some parts of the world.
Identifying sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and Southeast Asia as regions where women face a higher burden of the disease due to limited access to screening, the UN calls for more vaccination and treatment services.
It also recalled that a coordinated global effort to eliminate cervical cancer was launched in 2020 showing that 194 countries initiated a global strategy aimed at ending cervical cancer as a public health problem.
On the day the strategy was launched, November 17, was designated World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day (WCED) by the UN to serve as an annual reminder of the global commitment to reducing and ultimately eliminating the disease.
According to the WHO, the global strategy outlines three specific targets to be achieved by 2030 targeting 90 percent of girls to be fully vaccinated against HPV by the age of 15.
The strategy also sets a target that 70 percent of women should be screened using a high-performance test by the age of 35 and again by the age of 45. WHO further stated that 70 per cent of women diagnosed with cervical disease should receive appropriate treatment.
WHO estimates cited by the UN indicated that achieving these targets could have a significant long-term impact adding that eliminating cervical cancer could avert 74 million new cases and prevent 62 million deaths by the year 2120.
The UN stressed that continued global commitment, access to healthcare services and sustained awareness efforts remain essential in reducing the burden of cervical cancer and protecting the lives of women worldwide.
