‘Political will critical in cervical cancer fight’
Political commitment and sound leadership are critical to winning the battle against cervical cancer, a disease which kills a woman every two minutes globally, says World Health Organisation’s (WHO) director of reproductive health and research Dr Marleen Temmerman.
She said this on Monday at the Global Forum for Cervical Cancer (GFCC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The GFCC brought together global leaders and experts to devise a road map to ensure that all women and girls have equitable access to HPV vaccines, screening and treatment.
HPV stands for human papilloma virus which causes several cancers, including cervical cancer.
“WHO is committed to working with partners, including governments, to take all steps possible to prevent women worldwide from dying of cervical cancer,” said Temmerman.
First Lady of Zambia, Dr Christine Kaseba Sata, an obstetrician and gynaecologist by profession, said it is sad that policy makers do not have enough information on cervical cancer, which is preventable and highly curable if diagnosed early.
“There are many myths surrounding cervical cancer. We need to make sure that policy makers have the right information and that they know the magnitude of the problem,” she said.
Kaseba Sata noted that although resources may be available, Africa faces several barriers to access them such as stigma that is attached to cervical cancer, poor human resources, and socio-cultural issues, among other things.
The GFCC noted that international agencies have a key role to play to ensure that the world moves toward the WHO commitment that by 2015, 50 percent of the countries with high cervical cancer rates will have introduced the HPV vaccine, which is given to prevent adolescent girls from cervical cancer.
