Cervical Cancer Campaign
Cervical Cancer Elimination Campaign Africa
Making the invisible visible so that no woman in Africa will die from cervical cancer
Soroptimist International Africa Federation (SIAF) has joined forces with the UN Health4Life Fund for joint action on the elimination of cervical cancer across Africa.
Today, one woman dies from cervical cancer every two minutes somewhere in the world. It strikes women decades after they have been infected by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), most often going unnoticed until it is too late to cure. 9 out of 10 deaths from cervical cancer today occur in a low- or middle-income country.
Africa is the hardest hit continent with 321 women hearing the words ‘you have cervical cancer’ every day. Here’s the score:
● Cervical cancer is the 2nd most commonly diagnosed cancer in Africa.
● Cervical cancer is the 2nd leading cause of cancer death in Africa.
● Each year in Africa, some 77,000 women lose their lives needlessly to this invisible disease and the number is rising.
Today, we have cost-effective means to prevent and treat the disease, sparing women from this invisible killer. The WHO global elimination strategy is achievable and calls on all countries, by 2030, to reach:
● 90% of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age
● 70% of women screened using a high-performance test by age 35 and again by 45
● 90% of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment
The WHO strategy calls for the involvement of civil society partners and the meaningful engagement with and empowerment of affected populations. Soroptimists in Africa will play an important role, over the coming years, as the voice of women on this life-threatening health concern. Soroptimists Clubs in Africa will work alongside the United Nations and other partners to raise awareness among pre-teen girls and women on the importance of vaccination and early screening. Prevention is key, yet in 2021, only 12% of girls were fully vaccinated against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) worldwide [1].
In Africa, we have some shining examples – Ethiopia and Rwanda reached 84% coverage, Botswana has achieved 87%, while Seychelles stands at 99% of girls having had the last dose. However, over half the countries on the African continent lag very far behind, with many countries having no HPV vaccination program in place at all.
[1] WHO 2022 Social Media Toolkit Cervical Cancer Elimination Day of Action
SIAF has a broad overarching commitment as a Health4Life Fund partner that includes:
● Advocating for improved access to treatment and screening of women as well as the implementation of vaccination programs for adolescent girls.
● Participating in country-level action by engaging with the government and UN partners for the grant proposal development and/or implementation ensuring the participation of women.
● Raising funds to be earmarked to the Health4Life Fund Pillar 4 for cervical cancer elimination in Africa. H4LF will be mobilizing additional resources to complement funds raised by Soroptimists.
Funds raised will be pooled with other contributions via the UN Health4Life Fund to finance sustainable domestic responses to cervical cancer through grants for collective, collaborative, and coordinated action involving all relevant stakeholders, including Soroptimists.
Achieving the WHO 90-70-90 targets in low- and lower-middle-income countries within the SDG timeframe means:
● By 2030, over 250 000 healthy women will remain productive members of the workforce, contributing approximately $28 billion to the world’s economy
● By 2070, some 14 million lives will have been saved, 50 years after agreeing on the global strategy.
● By 2120, the incidence rate can fall by 97% with more than 74 million new cases and 62 million cervical cancer deaths averted over this coming century.
Soroptimists are standing up for women and will rally others to this cause.
We need you to contribute to this campaign to enable systemic, collaborative, country-led responses to save the lives of women. When we lose a woman, her family’s future is at risk, deepening a vicious cycle of poverty. This is about women’s rights; the right to healthcare and to access existing and proven prevention and treatment strategies that can keep them alive. Any woman, anywhere, can be exposed to cervical cancer.
Help us keep women safe from this invisible cancer.
Companies are invited to partner with Soroptimist International Africa Federation by reaching out to a local Club in your country for more information on how to engage with us.
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