Developing countries suffer 85% of cervical cancer- WHO
A new World Health Organization (WHO) guide to prevent and control cervical cancer reports that 85 per cent of the disease occurs in developing countries.
According to the new guide, the disease is one of the world’s deadliest – but most easily preventable – forms of cancer for women, responsible for more than 270 000 deaths annually.
The new “Comprehensive cervical cancer control: a guide to essential practice”, which was made available to the Ghana News Agency by Paul Garwood, WHO Communications Officer was launched on Wednesday at the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Melbourne, Australia on December 3.
It said the main elements in the new guidance are vaccinate nine to 13-year-old girls with two doses of HPV vaccine to prevent infection with the Human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.
It observed that the reduced, two-dose schedule had been shown to be as effective as the current three-dose schedule.
It said the change would make it easier to administer the vaccine; in addition, it reduces the cost, which is particularly important for low- and middle-income countries where national health budgets were constrained but where the need for HPV vaccine was the greatest.
“Today, girls in more than 55 countries are protected by routine administration of HPV vaccine.
“Encouragingly, a growing number of low- and middle-income countries are introducing HPV vaccine in the routine schedule, with support from the GAVI Alliance, it said.
The guide observed that with HPV testing, the frequency of screening would decrease; once a woman had been screened negative, she should not be rescreened for at least five years, but should be rescreened within 10.
It said this represents a major cost saving for health systems, in comparison with other types of tests.
Instead of focusing mostly on encouraging the screening of women aged over 29, the guide recommends communicating with a wider audience: adolescents, parents, educators, leaders and people working at all levels of the health system, to reach women throughout their lives.
Dr Nathalie Broutet, a leading WHO expert on cervical cancer prevention and control, said: “WHO’s updated cervical cancer guidance can be the difference between life and death for girls and women worldwide.
“There are no magic bullets, but the combination of more effective and affordable tools to prevent and treat cervical cancer will help release the strain on stretched health budgets, especially in low-income countries, and contribute drastically to the elimination of cervical cancer.”
According to the new guide an estimated one million-plus women worldwide were currently living with cervical cancer; many had no access to health services for prevention, curative treatment or palliative care.
It said cervical cancer rates had fallen in much of the developed world during the past 30 years, largely due to screening and treatment programs.
It said during the same time, however, rates in most developing countries had risen or remain unchanged, often due to limited access to health services, lack of awareness and absence of screening and treatment programmes.
The new guide said rural and poorer women living in developed countries were at increased risk of invasive cervical cancer.
The new guidance highlights the importance of addressing gender discrimination and other inequities in relation to a range of other social factors such as wealth, class, education, religion and ethnicity, in the design of health policies and programmes.
“Unless we address gender inequality and ensure women’s right to health, the number of women dying from cervical cancer will continue to rise,” said Dr Marleen Temmerman, Director of WHO’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research.
The new WHO guidance provides a comprehensive cervical cancer control and prevention approach for governments and healthcare providers.
Also known as the “Pink Book,” it underlines recent developments in technology and strategy for improving women’s access to health services to prevent and control cervical cancer.
Source: GNA