The Pan American Health Organization cordially invites you to follow the event on Cervical Cancer Elimination: Advancing The Call To Action in the Americas, which will take place on Wednesday, 2 October 2024, at 12.30 pm (EDT), as part of the briefing sessions of the 61st PAHO Directing Council.
Objectives:
- To show the regional progress on the global targets for HPV vaccination coverage, HPV testing and treatment, and promote strategies to increase coverage towards cervical cancer elimination.
- To stimulate countries to implement comprehensive cervical cancer programs by showcasing selected country best practices, results, and innovative approaches towards cervical cancer elimination.
- To engage Member States on the outcomes and commitments emerging from the Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Forum.
How to participate
- DATE: Wednesday, 2 October, 2024.
- TIME: 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM (EDT) [Check other local times at the end of the page]
- LANGUAGES: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
- LIVE BROADCAST: The session will be live cast on the PAHO Governing Bodies website at https://www.paho.org/en/governing-bodies/directing-council/61st-directing-council
Agenda
Moderator: Dr. Anselm Hennis, Director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, PAHO
Welcome Remarks
- Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva, Jr., Director, PAHO
Opening and Introductory Remarks on Cervical Cancer Elimination in the Americas
- Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas, Assistant Director, PAHO
Video on the PAHO cervical cancer elimination strategy
Moderated Panel on Country Strategies and Results for Cervical Cancer Elimination
- Panama: First country to incorporate the HPV vaccine into the national schedule, using a mixed delivery strategy in schools and health facilities. - Dr. Reina Roa, Director General of Public Health, Ministry of National Public Health of the República of Panamá.
- El Salvador: Introduction of the HPV vaccine during the pandemic. The country with primary screening using a high-performance test (HPV) followed by treatment with thermal ablation. - Dr. Francisco José Alabí Montoya, Minister of Health of El Salvador.
- Paraguay: Incorporated HPV test as primary screening, currently implementing 200,000 tests nationwide. - Dr. María Teresa Barán Wasilchuk, Minister of Public Health and Social Wellness of Paraguay.
Moderated discussion and comments from participants.
Background
Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer and cancer deaths in women worldwide, including in Latin America and the Caribbean. Despite being highly preventable with HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions, over 40,000 women die from this disease each year in the Americas, with the vast majority (83%) in countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Mortality rates are three times higher in Latin America and the Caribbean than in North America, underscoring inequalities in income, gender, and access to health services in the region. If current trends continue, cervical cancer deaths in the Americas are projected to increase to more than 51,500 by 2030, due to population growth and advances in life expectancy; 89% of these deaths will occur in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In 2018, PAHO established a renewed regional plan of action for cervical cancer prevention and control, urging the scale-up of national HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment programs. Then, in 2020, the World Health Assembly adopted the Strategy for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem, with the goal of reducing the incidence rate of cervical cancer to below 4 cases per 100,000 women in all countries. To achieve this goal, the Strategy proposes three objectives for countries by 2030:
- 90% HPV vaccination coverage among girls (at 15 years of age);
- 70% screening coverage (70% of women undergo high performance testing at the ages of 35 and 45);
- 90% treatment of precancerous lesions and management of 90% of invasive cancer cases.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the incidence of cervical cancer ranges from 11 to 39 cases per 100,000 women. In most countries, vaccination, screening, and treatment coverage remain far from the established targets. PAHO has been providing technical cooperation to Member States throughout the region to strengthen their national cervical cancer prevention and control programs, including to increase coverage of HPV vaccination, screening and treatment and spur actions to achieve the global elimination targets.
Related links
Times in other cities
- 9:30 a.m. – Los Angeles, Vancouver.
- 10:30 a.m. - Belmopan, Guatemala City, Managua, Mexico City, San Jose (CR), San Salvador, Tegucigalpa,
- 11:30 a.m. – Bogota, Kingston, Lima, Panama City, Quito
- 12:30 p.m. – Asunción, Bridgetown, Caracas, Georgetown, Havana, La Paz, Port of Spain, Port-au-Prince, Nassau, Ottawa, Santiago, San Juan, Santo Domingo, Washington D.C.
- 1: 30 p.m. - Buenos Aires, Brasilia, Montevideo, Paramaribo.
- 6:30 p.m. – Geneva, Madrid.
For other cities, check the local time using the following link.