WHO aims at cervical cancer to reduce cases, deaths

GENEVA (Reuters) – Vaccinating nine out of 10 girls under 15 against cervical cancer and improving screening and treatment of women could reduce infections by 40 percent and save 5 million lives by 2050, the organization said Tuesday. World Health Organization (WHO).

Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer among women globally, is a preventable disease but affects at least 570,000 each year and kills 311,000, the United Nations agency said.

Almost all cases are linked to infections with types of human papillomavirus (HPV) transmitted by sexual contact. Infection rates are double in developing countries and death rates three times higher than in high-income countries.

“If we do nothing with this disease, the number of cases will increase and the number of deaths will also increase by 21% by 2030,” Dr. Princess Nothemba Simelela from South Africa, assistant director general, told a news conference. of the WHO.

Last week, health ministers from its 194 member states supported a strategy to eliminate cervical cancer, launched on Tuesday.

“We want countries to target 90% of girls under 15 who are vaccinated, 70% of eligible women identified and treated, 90% of women with invasive cancer treated,” Simelela said.

Some labs and other tools developed during the COVID-19 pandemic will be useful for cervical cancer screening, and new tests are expected to accelerate results and treatment, he said.

“With this technology, we can get a diagnosis in 20 minutes and the woman can be treated immediately on the spot, making it possible to visit in one day and be immediately cured of this pre-cancer lesion,” Simelela added.

But there is often a stigma around cervical cancer, he said.

“The way you see it, you start getting a smelly discharge, you start rotting from the inside. It’s a painful cancer to have and they don’t want to talk about it. “