Cervical cancer is the second most deadly cancer among women of reproductive age in Eastern Europe and Central Asia: every year, more than 32,000 women are diagnosed and 16,000 die. due to the cancer, which is preventable through HPV vaccination, cervical screening and treatment of precancerous lesions. However, in most countries in the region, these services are not available or accessible for target populations, particularly in rural, remote or otherwise marginalized communities.
Few countries in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region have national HPV vaccination programmes, and those that exist have low coverage rates. In most countries, the vaccine is not available, or only available for a high cost, limiting access for those who cannot afford it. To prevent cervical cancer, HPV vaccination should be included in the national vaccination calendar and delivered through national programmes with high coverage (>70%) of the target population.
Organized screening programmes are not available in most countries; opportunistic screening programmes with low coverage of the target population do not make a significant impact. Improvement of the methodologies for cervical screening is critical: low-performance tests should be replaced by high-performance HPV testing. Very few countries cover the cost of following up a positive screening test or the treatment of precancerous lesions – both of which are essential components of the cervical screening process. All the services, from the initial screening test through to the treatment of pre-invasive disease as well as cancer, should be provided free of charge to all women of screening age to ensure that cost is not a barrier.
To address these issues, UNFPA launched the Regional Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in October 2021. The Alliance is a regional multisectoral coordination body that brings together policymakers, experts, CSOs, private sector companies and international organizations to join efforts and accelerate the progress in eliminating cervical cancer, implementing the UNFPA Regional Strategy to Eliminate Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
