Cervical Cancer Deaths Could Hit 500,000 By 2040

The Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI) has advised that countries step up their fight against HPV if cervical cancer cases are to be reduced.

GAVI estimates that at least 300,000 women die from cancer of the cervix annually, which is worrisome as the disease has risen to kill more women than those that die from maternal health.

GAVI Deputy Chief Executive Officer Anuradha Gupta, at the sidelines of the ongoing International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Nairobi Summit said that the current trend of cervical cancer cases calls for urgent protection of women.

“In Kenya alone, the disease is so deadly as statistics show that most cancer patients are women, and about seven die daily from cervical cancer, which is the second killer cancer of women after breast cancer,” said Gupta.

Gupta added that because cervical cancer cases continue to increase by the day, and seeing that the death rate stands at 300,000 annually, countries should embrace prevention plans or risk losing up to 500,000 women to cancer by the year 2040.

She commended Kenya for rolling out free HPV vaccines to ten-year-old girls, saying that the country is on its way to reducing cervical cancer by protecting its children against the main cause of the disease.

Gupta said that people might be reluctant about having their young girls receiving the vaccine because they lack information and maybe want to see the effects immediately.

“All countries need to educate their citizens on the economic value prevention of cervical cancer through HPV vaccine brings. We all need a number of strategies and the creation of awareness to have our people realize the benefits of a cervical cancer-free world. In Kenya, we are glad to note that there is incredible political goodwill,” said Gupta.

Rwanda already took up the vaccine coverage which currently stands at 90 percent as confirmed by the country’s minister for health Dr. Patrick Ndimubanzi.

Dr. Ndumubanzi said that Rwanda faced the same religious resistance, which he said was a lack of knowledge, as the benefits of the HPV vaccine cannot be seen immediately but will be seen in about 10-15 years.

GAVI enlightened attendants that if the world over embraced HPV vaccine, cervical cancer cases would surely drop as the vaccine has the potential to prevent six million deaths from cancer of the cervix.

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