Eastern Europe & Central Asia Cervical Cancer Prevention Alliance: 2nd Forum Meeting

Please join UNFPA Eastern Europe & Central Asia for the 2nd forum meeting of the Regional Cervical Cancer Prevention Alliance. The EECA Regional Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention was initiated by the UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia with support from UNFPA country offices as a multi-county, multi-partner cooperation framework to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in EECA countries. In this meeting, we will cover the latest developments in HPV vaccination, HPV screening, have updates from Alliance members (Uzbekistan and Georgia) as well as the 3 Alliance Committees (HPV Vaccination, Cervical Screening and HPV Primary Screening). We will also discuss plans for 2023. 30 November 2022  11:00 a.m. Istanbul time (GMT+3) Please register in advance for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

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Newly formed regional alliance charts way forward for ending cervical cancer in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Istanbul - The first meeting of a new regional forum on cervical cancer prevention in Eastern Europe and Central Asia was held online on 14 December. “This forum is an important opportunity for knowledge-sharing and linking thematic priorities with concrete actions,” said Giulia Vallese, Regional Director a.i. for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA). Organized by UNFPA and the International Cervical Cancer Prevention Association (ICCPA), the forum brought together the members of the EECA Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention, regional government representatives, experts from national institutions and screening programmes, World Health Organization, International Federation of Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy, International Association for Research on Cancer, Roche Diagnostics and other private sector representatives. The forum enables UNFPA to match the needs of individual countries with opportunities and support from international institutions and the private sector. “This forum will be an excellent mechanism to share the solutions that have been found and that are likely to be more appropriate for other countries and territories in this region than solutions coming from high-income countries and thereby facilitate further progress in preventing new cases and deaths from cervical cancer,” said Dr. Philip Davies, Director General of the ICCPA. UNFPA launched the EECA Regional Alliance on Cervical Cancer Prevention in October 2021. The Alliance will accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer across the region by harmonizing strategic approaches for cervical cancer prevention and control and helping countries develop and implement evidence-based action plans. “The Alliance is a powerful multisectoral intercountry cooperation network for cervical cancer elimination in the region,” said Dr. Tamar Khomasuridze, UNFPA’s regional sexual and reproductive health advisor. “It promotes public-private partnerships and south-south cooperation to prevent new cases and deaths caused by cervical cancer.” Most cervical cancer deaths are preventable and screening programmes can reduce cervical cancer rates by up to 80 per cent and by up to 90 per cent when combined with human papillomavirus vaccination of adolescent girls. However, due to an absence of such programmes in most countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, there are up to 10 times more new cases of cervical cancer and deaths in the region compared with Western Europe. In 2020, the World Health Organization launched a global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer. It calls for governments, civil society, the private sector, international organizations and affected populations to collaborate and increase human papillomavirus testing to help identify those most at risk of cervical cancer. “The vision set forth in the global strategy is a cervical cancer free future,” said Giulia Vallese. “We need to work together and accelerate our efforts to make this vision a reality.” There are more than 46,000 new cases and 21,000 deaths from cervical cancer in the region every year. The World Health Organization estimates that 311,000 women globally die each year from cervical cancer.

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New partnership between UNFPA and Roche Diagnostics to prevent cervical cancer

Istanbul, November 2021 - UNFPA’s Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and Roche Diagnostics Turkey, Central Asia and Caucasian Countries Management Center are joining forces to prevent cervical cancer. A partnership agreement was signed between the two institutions to advance progress towards eliminating cervical cancer in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and raise awareness about the importance of screening for the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes this cancer. With this partnership, UNFPA and Roche will share knowledge, organize regional forums, conduct training for healthcare professionals, undertake research and provide evidence on the cost-benefit of HPV testing. “We are very excited about this new partnership with Roche,” said Alanna Armitage, Director of UNFPA’s Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death among women of reproductive age in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the number of new cases registered annually  is up to 10 times higher than in Western Europe. With this partnership we hope to close this gap and accelerate efforts in eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.” “The World Health Organization estimates that 311,000 women globally die each year from cervical cancer. Without vaccination, screening and the right treatment, we can’t eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem and make it a disease of the past,” said Burçak Çelik, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics Turkey, Head of Turkey & Central Asia and Caucasian Countries Management Center. “To combat this challenge, we need to increase awareness and the vaccination rate of the society and train healthcare professionals on HPV screening. Therefore, our partnership with UNFPA will have a great importance in our common goal to eliminate cervical cancer in the region.” Most cervical cancer deaths are preventable. Screening programmes can reduce cervical cancer rates by up to 80 per cent and by up to 90 per cent when combined with HPV vaccination of adolescent girls. The World Health Organization launched its global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer in 2020. It calls for governments, civil society, the private sector, international organizations and affected populations to collaborate and increase HPV testing to help identify those most at risk of cervical cancer. The strategy outlines three measurable global targets to prevent and treat cervical cancer: By 2030, 90 per cent of girls should be fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by 15 years of age; 70 per cent of women should be screened using a high-performance test by age 35, and again by age 45; 90 per cent of those identified with cervical disease should receive appropriate treatment. The partnership between UNFPA and Roche aims to contribute to achieving these targets.

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More doctors trained to tackle cervical cancer prevention

LYON, France — For many women in Georgia, preventive reproductive health care is not a regular part of their lives. As a result, many who are diagnosed with cervical cancer learn they have the disease only after it has already spread. “Women in Georgia often perceive it as shameful to talk about intimate parts of their bodies with a doctor, and so they postpone a visit until it is too late,” says Dr. Sophie Bojgua, a obstetrician-gynaecologist at the David Gagua Clinic in Tbilisi. Thanks to a UNFPA-supported training programme, Dr. Bojgua is now helping change that, by raising awareness about cervical cancer among the public, and helping her colleagues work to improve the Georgian health-care system’s approach to cervical cancer prevention. Cervical cancer is the only preventable cancer of the reproductive system, but countries across the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region often lack formal cervical cancer prevention programmes. As result, the number of new cases and deaths caused by cervical cancer in the region is ten times higher than it is in the European Union. Filling capacity gaps Dr. Bojgua is part of the second cohort of medical professionals from Eastern Europe and Central Asia to successfully complete a Regional Training Programme in Colposcopy and Cervical Pre-Cancer Management launched in 2016 by UNFPA, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the International Federation of Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy (IFCPC). The programme comprises six months of online training, followed by  clinical case-management sessions conducted in a colposcopy clinic under the supervision of a trainer who was trained by IFCPC and IARC. After completing the course, participants take an objective structured clinical examination. This test was administered in Lyon, France, to the first cohort in late 2017 and to Dr. Bojgua’s group in May 2019. With a success rate of more than 98% on both exams, the programme has to date resulted in a pool of more than 50 internationally certified professionals from all countries and territories in the region. They can now train colleagues and treat pre-cancerous conditions among patients in their home countries in full accordance with the latest international standards. “Progress in preventing cervical cancer depends on progress in advancing screening programmes and strengthening institutional capacities,” says certified trainer Dr. Madona Jugeli, who applies her expertise to cervical cancer prevention programmes at the national and regional levels. “The problem of cervical cancer is very urgent for my country due to low awareness of the problem, and an absence or lack of qualified health workers, laboratory technicians and necessary equipment to screen and prevent cervical cancer,” says Dr. Nurgul Shoonaeva from Kyrgyzstan, who also participated in the training programme and took the exam in May. Implementing organized cervical cancer screening programmes – the most effective way to prevent the disease or treat it at early stages – is similarly challenging across the region, where countries lack the necessary trained human resources, medical equipment, screening registries and statistical data. UNFPA’s training programme is helping to fill those capacity gaps. Boosting knowledge and confidence “The success rate demonstrated by the trainees in both rounds of the objective structured clinical examination in Lyon is good evidence of the dedication and capacities of service providers from countries in our region to benefit from international training opportunities and to apply that knowledge to national efforts on cervical cancer prevention,” says Dr. Tamar Khomasuridze, UNFPA’s Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health Adviser for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. “Continuing to make high-quality international training resources available in local languages, in an affordable and accessible way, is key to preventing and eliminating cervical cancer in the region.” Dr. Bojgua from Georgia credits the UNFPA-supported training with giving her the “knowledge and confidence” to share information on the topic of cervical cancer prevention, both with her medical colleagues and with the broader public. “About a month after the exam, I held a meeting with my colleagues on this topic, and I was recently invited on a TV show to talk about it,” she says. “This training was a big step personally for me as a doctor, but I believe it has an effect on a bigger scale, too.”

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