By Hassan Zaggi
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, has called on African leaders to “urgently to ensure that the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) vaccine reaches all our young women between the ages of 9 to 14 years.”
She made the call in a message to mark the 2024 Cervical Cancer awareness month, insisting that “this requires us to focus on our immediate needs in order to address these gaps.”
Dr. Moeti however, expressed concern that the high rates of cervical cancer in the African region were clear indications that there are major gaps in knowledge, awareness of the disease, and access to screening.
On what the WHO is doing to tackle what she described as the unacceptable burden of cervical cancer cases in the region, Dr. Moeti said: “First, as a region, we have a specific public health framework, launched in 2021, aimed at accelerating the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem in Africa.
“This framework contains concrete actions that can be taken to reach 90% of girls are fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by 15 years of age; 70% of women are screened using a high-performance test by 35 years of age and again by 45 years of age; and 90% of women with pre-cancer are treated, and 90% of women with more advanced cancer are managed.”
The WHO Chief described HPV vaccination as a game-changer in the drive to eliminate cervical cancer, not only in our region, but also globally.
“We are making major progress in this area. 27 countries in our region have started HPV vaccination, making it part of routine vaccination in young women.
“Another move towards accelerating the introduction of the life-saving HPV vaccine, is towards using only one dose – shown to be highly effective, and which means that young women are less likely to drop out of the vaccine schedule.
“Already, 4 countries have adopted the single dose vaccine. The region overall, is scaling up and increasing HPV vaccine coverage in the target populations, which is highly encouraging,” she said.
Dr. Moeti, therefore, urged all countries in Africa to actively engage in awareness campaigns, promote screening and encourage HPV vaccination among their young women.
“As we start 2024, let’s keep cervical cancer high on our agenda.
“My message is clear: first, cervical cancer can be prevented and it can be cured. Everyone needs to be aware of the disease, what causes it and how it can be prevented.
“Second, there is no one intervention that will achieve this – we need to harness a range of techniques and approaches.
“Third, the WHO Regional Office for Africa will continue to work with our countries and a range of partners and stakeholders to accelerate action against cervical cancer and ensure that no woman in Africa needs to be diagnosed with this devastating disease,” she stressed.
She, however, revealed that in 2020, in the WHO African Region, 100,000 women developed cervical cancer and approximately 70,000 of these women died – this is 21% of the cervical cancer mortality globally.
On the key messages for the 2024 campaign which include ‘be informed, get screened and get vaccinated,’ the WHO Regional Director said: “It is critical that young women in particular know about the link between cervical cancer and the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
“Almost all (99%) of cervical cancer is linked to this common virus, that is transmitted during sex.
“Second, get screened. Knowing about this link with a common viral infection means that it is now easier to screen women for the disease.
“And third, get vaccinated – this disease can be prevented by vaccinating young women, so preventing HPV infection. Cervical cancer awareness requires us to empower women with knowledge, at school, by clinic staff, and from women who are living with the disease.
“Understanding the link between the disease and HPV will encourage screening, and HPV vaccination among young women.”
