At the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly, ministers of health, policy leaders, partners and civil society convened, calling for stronger health systems and greater accountability to accelerate cervical cancer elimination.
The official side event, “Cervical cancer elimination: Strengthening health systems and accountability toward the 2030 targets,” was co-organized by South Africa and Nepal, with co-sponsorship by Brazil, China, Eswatini, Ghana, Indonesia, Pakistan, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Unitaid. Discussions centred on what it will take to turn political commitment into delivery: expanding HPV vaccination, bringing screening closer to communities, strengthening referral pathways, closing treatment gaps and integrating cervical cancer services into primary health care.
The event came one year after the adoption of World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day through resolution WHA 78.8 , which will be observed annually on 17 November as a global opportunity to review progress and renew commitment.
When systems fail, women pay the price
Opening the session, H.E. Dr Motsoaledi, Minister of Health, South Africa, called for a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to cervical cancer elimination, emphasizing primary health care integration, sustainable financing and delivery on political commitments. He noted that “the science is established, the tools exist and the strategies are in place,” but stressed that “progress now demands accountability.”
That accountability challenge was grounded by cervical cancer survivor and patient advocate Sally Kwenda, whose personal experience highlighted the consequences when prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up do not connect. Her message was clear: “People are not diseases,” as she called for integrated, person-centred care, particularly for women living with HIV.
In closing reflections, H.E. Dr Motsoaledi returned to the same human reality. “None of this is abstract,” he said, noting that “behind every percentage is a woman who either received care in time or did not.”
The discussion reinforced that elimination requires systems that can deliver timely, equitable and continuous care.
Reaching women where they are
H.E. Ms Mehta, Minister of Health and Population, Nepal, highlighted how bringing services closer to communities is helping expand access. Through a network of more than 52 000 female community health volunteers are providing “critical last-mile connectivity”, alongside HPV vaccination, same-day screen-and-treat approaches, self-sampling pilots, and strengthened referral systems. Nepal is helping more women access prevention, screening and care.
Country experiences showed both progress and persistent gaps. Brazil highlighted progress in HPV vaccination coverage, through school-based delivery and outreach to remote and Indigenous communities, alongside pilots for self-sampling and HPV-based screening. Ghana emphasized the need to integrate screening and treatment into primary health care systems and extend services beyond urban centres, while pointing to gaps in diagnostics, treatment capacity, workforce and financing. Liberia captured one of the clearest system challenges: although more than 1000 health workers have been trained in visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) for cervical cancer screening, limited treatment capacity means that “we screen, but we are not able to ‘screen-and-treat’.”
Together, these examples reinforced that equitable progress depends on models that respond to women, girls and communities – and link screening to timely treatment and care.
Innovation must expand access, not widen gaps
Affordability and access also emerged as central themes. Unitaid emphasized that new technologies and delivery models can accelerate elimination only if they are affordable, integrated into routine health systems and able to reach women who are currently being missed.
Mme Anne-Claire Amprou, Chair of the Unitaid Executive Board, stressed that “innovation must translate into access at scale – not one without the other,” reinforcing that progress depends on countries being able to sustain and scale new tools equitably.
Elimination depends on whether systems deliver
Across the discussion, countries pointed to common priorities for the next phase: integrating services within primary health care; expanding access to HPV DNA testing and self-sampling; strengthening referral and treatment systems; investing in workforce capacity; improving affordability; and ensuring that women, survivor and community voices shape programmes and hold systems accountable.
The message was clear. Countries have the tools, evidence, and growing political commitment needed to eliminate cervical cancer. The challenge now is whether health systems can deliver prevention, screening, treatment and care equitably and consistently.
As 2030 approaches, success will depend on turning commitments into action and ensuring every woman, everywhere, can access the prevention, screening, treatment and care she needs. This is how countries move closer to the 90-70-90 targets, bringing elimination within reach.
