The World Health Organization (WHO) launched a global strategy on 17^th November 2020 to eliminate cervical cancer. The move paves way for the prevention of more than 50,000 cases of cervical cancer among Indian women by 2050, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Targets have been placed that need to be met by 2030 and ensure that all countries are on the same path of eliminating cervical cancer. This includes the confirmation that 90% of the girls receive the HPV vaccine by the age of 15, 70% women screened by age 35 and again by 45 and 90% of women identified as having cervical disease receive the appropriate treatment.

Nneoma Okeke, Epidemiologist at GlobalData, comments: “This strategy has the potential to save thousands of lives. However, due to various restrictions worldwide that have been implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19, vaccination schedules and screening services have been interrupted, and medical resources are being diverted towards the pandemic with low-to middle- income countries (LMIC) suffering these changes the most.”

This could mean that the targets for 2030 may be moved to a later date but the goal remains the same.

Okeke concludes: “While all countries are responsible for meeting these targets, attention must be paid to low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), in which both incidence and mortality rates are considerably higher than in high-income countries.”