The wave of new commitments marks a historic step towards eliminating cervical cancer

Governments, donors, multilateral institutions and partners today announced major new policy, program and financial commitments, including nearly US$600 million in new funding, to eliminate cervical cancer. If these ambitions to expand vaccination coverage and strengthen screening and treatment programs are fully realized, the world could eliminate cancer for the first time.

These commitments were taken on the first Global Forum to Eliminate Cervical Cancer: A Call to Action in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, to catalyze national and global momentum to end this preventable disease.

Every two minutes, a woman dies of cervical cancer, even though the knowledge and tools to prevent and even eliminate this disease already exist. Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) – the leading cause of cervical cancer – can prevent the vast majority of cases and, combined with screening and treatment, provides a path to elimination.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide and continues to disproportionately affect women and their families in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In an important move, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022 global recommendation for single-dose HPV vaccine schedules have significantly reduced barriers to scaling up vaccination programs. It was reinforced by a similar recommendation in the Americas region in 2023. The WHO Regional Office for Africa has just followed suit with its own recommendation for countries in the region to adopt a single-dose vaccination schedule. To date, 37 countries have reported switching or intending to switch to a single-dose regimen.

The commitments announced at the forum mark a watershed moment to accelerate progress on the pledge made in 2020, when 194 countries have adopted WHO's global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer.

“We have the knowledge and tools to make cervical cancer history, but vaccination, screening and treatment programs are still not up to the mark,” he said. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of WHO. “This first global forum is an important opportunity for governments and partners to invest in a global strategy to eliminate and address inequalities that prevent women and girls from accessing life-saving tools.”

In addition to Indonesia's recommitment to its National Action Plan 2023, the country's other commitments include:

• Democratic Republic of the Congo is committed to starting the introduction of the HPV vaccine as soon as possible according to the single-dose schedule recommended by the WHO. We also commit to doing everything we can to reach, as soon as possible, the target of immunization coverage for girls aged 9-14 under the cervical cancer elimination strategy.
• Ethiopia commits to implementing a strong nationwide vaccine delivery strategy, targeting at least 95% coverage in 2024 for all 14-year-old girls, regardless of socioeconomic status, whether in or out of school. The state also commits to screening 1 million eligible women for cervical cancer each year and treating 90% of those screened who have positive precancerous lesions. Furthermore, a single dose of HPV has been approved for introduction this year and to be scaled up as part of the country's Expanded Immunization Program.
• Nigeria launched its national HPV vaccine program this year, adopting a single-dose schedule for girls aged 9 to 14, and is now committed to achieving at least 80% vaccination coverage for girls. They are committed to continuing to increase HPV vaccine coverage through a strong delivery strategy that will meet girls where they are. For girls who are in school, they will focus on school delivery; for girls who do not attend school, will undertake to carry out outreach activities at key times of the year, with the aim of reaching at least 80% of girls by 2026.

The nearly US$600 million in new funding includes US$180 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US$10 million from UNICEF and US$400 million from the World Bank. You can find a complete list and description of obligations here and will be updated on the forum.