Today marks the inaugural World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day, a significant milestone established by the World Health Assembly to advance global efforts against a preventable disease. The day reinforces growing international momentum, as countries and partners intensify vaccination drives, expand screening and treatment services, and commit to eliminating cervical cancer as a public health threat. Despite being the fourth most common cancer among women and responsible for over 350,000 deaths annually, cervical cancer is largely preventable with the tools already available.
This annual commemoration supports the WHO’s global elimination strategy, which focuses on achieving high vaccination coverage among girls, widespread screening for women, and timely treatment for precancerous and cancerous conditions. It serves as a platform to mobilize advocacy, resources, and health services so that women and girls everywhere can access essential care.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reflected on the progress made since the 2018 global call to action, noting that more countries are expanding HPV vaccination, improving screening, and strengthening treatment services. This progress is further highlighted by Gavi and partner estimates indicating that the target of reaching 86 million girls with HPV vaccination by the end of 2025 has been achieved.
Countries across regions are marking the day with renewed activity. Sierra Leone and Liberia are scaling up nationwide vaccination campaigns targeting more than 1.5 million girls. Sierra Leone is also preparing a mass screening effort and public awareness walk. In Malaysia, cervical cancer survivors are leading a week-long advocacy campaign highlighting the importance of self-sampling HPV tests to expand screening access.
Over the past year, numerous countries have launched major initiatives that underpin this global momentum. Angola, China, Cuba, Ghana, Nepal, Tajikistan, Tunisia, and others have introduced or expanded HPV vaccination in their national programmes. Pakistan conducted the world’s largest HPV vaccination campaign, reaching over nine million girls. Rwanda is rapidly advancing screening and treatment through its Mission 2027 initiative, aiming to meet global targets ahead of schedule. At the same time, countries such as Indonesia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Spain have reinforced commitments through national strategies, significant investments, and international cooperation.
Across the Western Pacific Region, WHO and Unitaid have also strengthened partnerships to improve access to screening and treatment for precancerous conditions. These collective efforts illustrate how countries are accelerating progress toward meeting the 90-70-90 targets of the Global Strategy.
An editor’s note adds that the final verification of vaccination numbers will be published in July 2026, based on official WHO and UNICEF coverage estimates.
