UNAIDS is joining with Cervical Cancer Action (CCA)—a global coalition to stop cervical cancer among women and girls in developing countries—to launch a new five-year initiative.
Taking Cervical Cancer Prevention to Scale: Protecting All Women and Girls, an initiative spearheaded by Ambassador Sally Cowal, is convening a partnership committed to prioritizing investments in the health of women and adolescent girls. It will build momentum for action on global cervical cancer prevention over the next five years.
Cervical cancer is preventable through vaccination and can be easily diagnosed, but prevention and diagnostic programmes are not widely available in the developing world. Rates of cervical cancer are four to five times higher among women living with HIV than among HIV-negative women, while the overall risk of acquiring HIV among women doubles when women are infected with the human papillomavirus, a cause of cervical cancer.
More than 80% of all cervical cancer cases and deaths occur in developing countries, where cervical cancer is the second most common cancer-related cause of death among women. Every year, cervical cancer affects nearly 500 000 women and takes the lives of over a quarter million women worldwide.
UNAIDS will use the political and programme platforms of the Fast-Track approach to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the initiative to prevent cervical cancer.
“The initiative we are launching today is an excellent opportunity for taking AIDS out of isolation and advancing gender equality in the response. UNAIDS’ partnership with Cervical Cancer Action is essential to start implementing the Sustainable Development Goal agenda and to build sustainable and stronger programmes for women.”
Luiz Loures, UNAIDS Deputy Executive Director
"US$ 3.65 billion over 10 years for cervical cancer control to save the lives of countless women and girls is not beyond us, integrating these investments with HIV prevention and control leverages multiple benefits."
Sally Cowal, Senior Vice President, Global Health, American Cancer Society.
“Cervical cancer is critical and becoming a crisis. Deaths due to cervical cancer are projected to rise by 20% by 2020. We need to move as quickly as we can.”
Christine Kaseba-Sata, former First Lady of Zambia.
“We cannot deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals if we don't get gender equality right. We don't deliver on HIV if we don't get gender equality right. It's not just cervical cancer, it’s about the rights of women and gender equality.”
Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
“Greater effort is needed to urgently ensure that the human papillomavirus vaccine is made widely available, especially in countries where it is most needed.”
Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
