UICC's actions on cervical cancer

UICC supported WHO’s efforts for more than two years to conceive, draft and present the Global Strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem,  which was launched on 17 November 2020.

Today, UICC is part of the WHO-led Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative to assist countries in achieving the "90:70:90" targets for vaccination, screening and treatment by 2030:

• 90% of girls fully vaccinated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine by the age of 15
• 70% of women screened using a high-performance test by the age of 35, and again by the age of 45;
• 90% of women with pre-cancer treated and 90% of women with invasive cancer managed.

UICC is also rallying its members and partners in calling for urgent national commitments to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. 

UICC offers training to health professionals and regularly raises awareness about cervical cancer on its website, during events and via its social media channels. It assists members around the world in reaching out to national and local audiences and provides regular information about the elimination strategy and its implementation. 

How does UICC help to mobilise national support for the Global Strategy?

• UICC has developed online learning activities and resources to strengthen skills and knowledge in advocacy for cervical cancer including the self-guided course on advocacy for cervical cancer elimination in English, French, and Spanish, and a related cervical cancer handbook. It provides tailored guidance to its network to support the development of national advocacy strategies.
• UICC leverages its established Fellowships programme to enable individuals to develop specialist skills and knowledge in cervical cancer.
• To assist members around the world in reaching out to media outlets and the public in their countries, UICC prepares news releases, talking points, videos, infographics, social media toolkits and other resources that are available in the cervical cancer resource hub.
• UICC publishes reports on regional or topical challenges to elimination, including the situation in Africa and financing elimination.

• UICC encourages members to urge their governments to make a 2022 SMART commitment to mobilise early action towards the 2030 goals (see UICC template letter).

• UICC leverages World Cancer Day to spotlight cervical cancer elimination, providing individuals and organisations with materials and resources to raise awareness about cervical cancer within their local context.
• A series of Virtual Dialogues launched in 2021 is also providing opportunities to exchange knowledge and learning across UICC’s community on this topic.
• A landscaping of the role of civil society organisations in the field of HPV vaccination.

SUCCESS project

As a member of the SUCCESS project, funded by Unitaid, and led by Expertise France, UICC is working together with Jhpiego to intensify cervical cancer prevention in Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guatemala and the Philippines.

The objective of the SUCCESS project (Scale-up Cervical Cancer Elimination with Secondary prevention Strategy) is to prevent the development of cancer in women who test positive for the human papillomavirus (HPV) and who have precancerous lesions. 

SUCCESS also engages other countries to share lessons learned at a regional level.

As part of the SUCCESS project, UICC commissioned Thinkwell to conduct an assessment of the status of health financing for cervical cancer elimination in each of the four project countries

The profiles provide concrete insights for civil society organisations and key in-country stakeholders to inform evidence-based policy dialogues and to empower them to advocate for the integration of cervical cancer interventions into national health financing frameworks, and within the context of UHC. 

These insights can be applied to other countries and contexts, across regions, and bring an understanding of the global challenge at hand. They build upon the global report published in 2021 led by the Economist Intelligence Unit. 

High-level partnerships in cervical cancer

• In addition to the SUCCESS project, UICC is also working closely with other partners, for example, with the French National Cancer Institute (INCa), which began in 2018. The partnership is focused upon opportunities to address the burden of women's cancers in Francophone Africa.
• UICC also helped to establish the Commonwealth taskforce in May 2021. The taskforce aims to encourage and facilitate cooperation between Commonwealth countries, and support progress towards the 90:70:90 goals outlined in the Global Strategy.