Citation, extracts and a comment from me below.
CITATION: Series Review 103890 June 15, 2026 Open access
Challenges and possible solutions towards reaching global cervical cancer elimination
Lancet eClinical Medicine
Laila Sara Arroyo Mühr et al.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(26)00138-0/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_aip_email
EXTRACTS
In 2018, cervical cancer claimed the lives of over 350,000 women, despite the fact that highly effective tools for prevention are available.1 Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the essential risk factor for the cancer and can be targeted by prophylactic vaccines that are known to not only prevent HPV-associated disease but also prevent the infection and reduce transmission of the virus in vaccinated populations. Furthermore, cervical screening using HPV testing provides a much stronger and longer lasting cancer protection than previously used screening method (cytology). Therefore WHO launched a call to action to global elimination of cervical cancer in 2018, which was followed by the 2020 WHO Global Strategy, which sets out the targets to be achieved by 2030: (1) 90% of girls fully vaccinated against HPV by the age of 15; (2) 70% of women should be screened using high-performance tests by the ages of 35 and 45; and (3) 90% of women with cervical disease should receive treatment (Table 1).2 While some countries have reached these goals, substantial challenges remain before global elimination of cervical cancer. In this article, we present our perspective on the key challenges and possible solutions that could accelerate progress toward cervical cancer elimination...
Empowering women with accurate information about test performance can generate demand for better screening...
Key next steps to take for achieving faster cervical cancer elimination after achieving the basic goals include i) expanding HPV vaccination programs to become gender-neutral and to include catch-up vaccination ii) reducing the costs of HPV screening (for example by switching to self-sampling, organization of testing and less expensive tests) iii) improving the specificity of HPV screening, avoiding the need for triaging and iv) addressing disparities in healthcare access. A collective global effort is needed to ensure that every woman and girl has access to the tools required for cervical cancer prevention, and that those who are diagnosed receive timely and effective treatment...
COMMENT (NPW): There is passing reference to 'empowering women with accurate information about test performance'. The key challenge is to 'ensure that every woman and girl has access to the tools required for cervical cancer prevention, and that those who are diagnosed receive timely and effective treatment'. In order to achieve this we need a robust global evidence ecosystem.
WHO provides an essential synthesis of available knowledge including:
- Burden of cervical cancer disease by country (GLOBOCAN)
- HPV vaccination
- WHO guideline for screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancer lesions for cervical cancer prevention
- WHO-approved HPV tests
- Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative
- Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem
- World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day
The weaknesses in the global evidence ecosystem relate primarily to synthesis (especially cpacity to produce robust national guidelines), packaging (especially for women and health workers) and availing evidence. https://www.hifa.org/about-hifa
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org