At a gathering of partners and spouses as well as other invited guests, a pledge was made on the sideline of a meeting of Commonwealth leaders on the 5th of May at the Commonwealth secretariat’s headquarters in London.
The Secretariat of the commonwealth hosted the gathering to focus on the action needed to accelerate the elimination of Cervical cancer and tackle challenges impeding progress towards this goal across the commonwealth.
An opportunity was offered to partners and spouses to discuss a coordinated approach to eliminate the disease.
Rwanda’s First Lady H.E. Jeannette Kagame, address the gathering and underscored the close link between health disparities and Cervical cancer.
She said disparities were unbeatable when we all share the great value of the commonwealth for the betterment of our communities, how would we explain this to our future generations? Preventable diseases will be overshadowed and beaten by a strong community, solidarity, and common [and] wealth.
H.E Jeannetta Kagame added “the [worlds health organizations]. Global Cervical cancer elimination strategy cleared the way for a permanent resolution of this pressing issue. One by one in our countries, we can tackle the components of the prevalence of this disease.
Globally, the fourth most common cancer among women is Cervical cancer. Countries of the commonwealth are particularly affected by Cervical cancer.
Accounting for 43% of related deaths and 40% of global cases, despite representing only 30% of the world’s population. Research estimates that Cervical cancer cases could increase by 55% and related death by 62%, by 2030 in the commonwealth, if urgent actions are not taken mostly in developing countries. The figure will be equivalent to one woman dying every 3 minutes.
At the gathering, Arjoon Suddhoo, commonwealth deputy secretary general emphasized that Cervical cancer is highly preventable, yet in low- and middle-income countries, 9 out of 10 women die from it due to inadequate access to vaccine, treatment, and screening.
Last year in Rwanda, commonwealth heads of government committed that, by 2025 to ensure all girls between the age of 9 and 13 have access to the human Papillomavirus vaccine. Following this will save about 60 million lives.
At a gathering to support countries with this commitment Emily Gilmour and Layne Robinson from the commonwealth secretariat’s social policy development section, presented the secretariat’s response which consists of three pillars, Action, research, and advocacy. The Commonwealth health minister will meet in Geneva, during this month. Head of the world health assembly to explore strategies for archiving universal health coverage. Including ways to improve access to Cervical cancer screening and treatment tools.
