The world marks Cervical Cancer Elimination Day as countries step up action

Today marks the first World Day to Eliminate Cervical Cancer – designated by the World Health Assembly – a historic milestone in global efforts to end preventable cancer. This day of action builds on strong momentum, with countries and partners uniting to launch ambitious vaccination campaigns, expand screening and treatment services, and accelerate progress towards eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.

The annual commemoration highlights a critical occasion: Cervical cancer – the fourth most common cancer in women – claims more than 350,000 lives each year, yet it's a disease we have the tools to eliminate.

The day supports the core pillars of WHO's global elimination strategy: vaccinating 90% of girls against human papillomavirus (HPV), screening 70% of women and treating 90% of those with pre-cancer and invasive cancer. It serves as a critical platform to strengthen advocacy, accelerate service delivery and mobilize resources to ensure that every woman and girl has access to life-saving care.

“In 2018, I was proud to launch a global call to action to eliminate cervical cancer, and now I'm even prouder to see what was once a distant dream become a reality,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “More and more countries are increasing HPV vaccination, improving screening and expanding treatment, moving us closer to a future without cervical cancer.”

The momentum is underscored by the announcement by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and its partners that the ambitious goal of reaching 86 million girls by the end of 2025 has been met, reflecting a broader wave of activity in the country to advance national elimination plans and expand access to screening and treatment.

Countries mark the World Day to Eliminate Cervical Cancer with a wave of actions on multiple fronts. Immunization is being scaled up through campaigns in Sierra Leone and Liberia targeting more than 1.5 million girls. Screening efforts are also intensifying, with Sierra Leone planning a massive campaign in all 16 districts, followed by an awareness walk. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, advocacy is taking center stage as survivors lead a week-long promotion of HPV self-sampling testing, a key innovation to expand access to screening.

In the past year, significant actions have taken place at the country level, providing a strong foundation for the new annual commemoration.

• Angola: launched an HPV vaccination campaign in October for girls aged 9-12.
• China: Added HPV vaccine to its national immunization program, increasing vaccination to all 13-year-old girls.
• Cuba: HPV vaccination launched in October 2025 for all girls in 4th grade.
• Ghana: A national vaccination campaign was held in October 2025 for girls aged 9-14, aiming to reach 2.4 million girls.
• Indonesia: Hosted the Second Global Forum to Eliminate Cervical Cancer and reaffirmed its commitment to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030 through bold national targets (90-75-90), a strong partnership ecosystem and substantial investment in vaccination, screening and treatment within its National plan for the elimination of cervical cancer 2023-2030.
• Nepal: Conducted a national HPV vaccination campaign targeting girls aged 10-14 in February 2025 to mark the introduction of the HPV vaccine into the national vaccination schedule.
• Nigeria: Launched efforts to eliminate cervical cancer across the country, with the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, committing US$700,000 through the 'Renewed Hope Initiative'. The investment further affirms Nigeria's leadership and support for WHO's elimination goals, also reflected in its co-sponsorship of the resolution establishing World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day.
• Pakistan: Launched national HPV vaccine rollout through campaign targeting girls aged 9-14, reaching over 9 million girls in largest single HPV campaign conducted by any country to date.
• Rwanda: Through Mission 2027own Expedited plan for eliminationthe country is rapidly expanding screening and treatment services across the country to meet the 90-70-90 targets by 2027, three years ahead of the global target.
• Spain: Through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), a three-year Spanish investment supports the World Health Organization's Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative to improve access to HPV vaccination, screening and treatment in countries in the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions of the World Health Organization.
• South Africa: Put cervical cancer elimination on the global stage as part of its G20 health agenda, reaffirming the country's unwavering support for the World Health Organization's Global Strategy. The country also participated in the adoption of a resolution establishing World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day and completing the National Strategic Framework for Cervical Cancer Elimination, which will be launched later this year.
• Tajikistan: Introduced HPV vaccination for all girls aged 10-14 years into its routine vaccination schedule from October 2025.
• Tunisia: Introduced the HPV vaccine into its routine immunization program for 12-year-old girls in April 2025.
• Across the World Health Organization's Western Pacific Region, Unitaid and the World Health Organization have expanded their partnership to strengthen cervical cancer prevention and treatment programs, supporting equal access to screening and treatment services for precancers.

Countries around the world are accelerating efforts to expand access to HPV vaccination, screening and treatment, making progress towards the 90-70-90 goals of the Global Strategy.

Editor's note

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and its partners estimate that the ambitious goal of reaching 86 million girls by the end of 2025 has been met. The number of girls to be screened based on official WHO/UNICEF HPV vaccine coverage estimates will be published in July 2026.