CCI Activities
Work with civil society organisations (CSOs)
What is missing at the moment is a critical mass of civil society organisations taking part in cervical cancer service provision, community education or advocacy. Women groups, reproductive health groups, adolescent networks, professional groups, patient organisations, women rights groups and disease specific organisations are out of the picture regarding cervical cancer priorities and actions. To date, the agenda of many CSOs already working in youth or health related issues does not include cervical cancer, thus wasting valuable opportunities for cervical cancer control among the women, adolescents and children they serve. The same population targeted by these CSOs should receive information about HPV and cervical cancer, be vaccinated against HPV, be screened for pre-cancerous lesions and treated as necessary.
Strengthen the cervical cancer argumentation with actual costs information
Understanding the magnitude of the financial investment needed to support comprehensive cervical cancer prevention efforts at country level is key to generating information for advocacy and action to mobilise the necessary resources (CCA Report Card). The evidence of cervical cancer being preventable is strong. Thus, an effort to move the needed resources to achieve impact has to be orchestrated. Expanding and sustaining cervical cancer programmes will require new investments i.e. delivering the HPV vaccine will add costs to existing vaccination programs. Decision makers need country level information to plan for the financial investments required to expand current cervical cancer control programmes. Having this data will help advocate for, and mobilise, the necessary resources and would allow the global community, donors, and countries to assess the feasibility, affordability and impact of a strategic mix of interventions for cervical cancer control.
Advocacy and Awareness
UICC collaborates with members and partners to advocate for affordable and effective prevention and control interventions (including HPV vaccination, early diagnosis and screening technologies, as well as treatment options) available for all women, especially in resource-constrained countries. Joint advocacy sessions as well as international collaborative panels are held at major events including the UICC World Cancer Congress. A founding member of Cervical Cancer Action, UICC is a contributor in the development of advocacy material such as the advocacy briefs series. UICC supports calls to action such as the Global Call to Stop Cervical Cancer, the STOP Cervical Cancer in Europe petition, the AfrOx declarations, and the Declaration for Universal Access to Cervical Cancer Prevention. Awareness actions are targeted at networks and audiences including not only women but also children, youth, teachers and patients. Support is given to awareness campaigns and projects led by UICC members. Online activities such as webinars are have been held together with hpv-vaccines.net and Cervical Cancer Action.
Professional education
CCI provides educational opportunities - either directly or through collaborative training with partners - to healthcare professionals from low and middle income countries through dedicated fellowships, as well as the UICC fellowship programme. A UICC HPV and Cervical Cancer Curriculum was developed by a team of distinguished scholars and practitioners for self-learning, on-the-job training and continuing education. Initially available in English, the Curriculum is being translated in other languages and will be sson available online.
If you need further information or want to get involved in UICC/Cervical Cancer Initiative please contact cervicalcancer@uicc.org.
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