February 3, 2021

As Cervical Cancer Awareness month draws to a close, we at TogetHER for Health are feeling optimistic about the momentum building to accelerate action on HPV and cervical cancer elimination globally. Despite the continued challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global cancer community is rallying around the WHO’s Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem.  

This past week, our colleagues at UICC and Jphiego co-hosted a critical dialogue on the need for convergent thinking to support cervical cancer elimination, and TogetHER hosted a webinar with representatives from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as well as Unitaid, who spoke about their global commitments to increase access and affordability of critical products and services to support HPV vaccination and early detection and management of cervical lesions across low and lower-middle income countries. TogetHER presented our findings from our 2020 report on global cervical cancer investments.

On January 21st, the U.S. witnessed the historic inauguration of its 46^th President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris. Along with number of our members and representatives from the broader cervical cancer community, TogetHER called upon the Biden Administration to sustain its commitments and provide continued leadership to support HPV and cervical cancer awareness, advocacy, research and practice, as part of its commitment to cancer control worldwide.

In addition to these significant, multilateral investments, we know that even small, targeted funds to support program efforts can make an impact. This week, we are excited to host Jphiego partners in Botswana who will share, along with representatives from the Ministry of Health and Wellness, on the impact of their pilot program to introduce thermal ablation into their national cancer control program. We hope you can join us for this exciting event on Thursday, February 4^th, World Cancer Day. And speaking of World Cancer Day, please take a moment to check out UICC’s “I Am/I Will” campaign in support of global cancer awareness.

As always, don’t hesitate to reach out to let us know what steps you are taking to accelerate HPV and cervical cancer elimination. We want to hear from you!