The fight against cervical cancer has been taken a notch higher with the recent introduction of the Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative, championed by the World Health Organization, WHO, in collaboration with stakeholders in the health sector.

The initiative boasts a strategic roadmap to achieve the elimination threshold of fewer than four cases of cervical cancer per 100,000 women in Nigeria.

Originally thought to be ambitious, the initiative targets 90 per cent vaccination coverage of girls aged 9–14 with the HPV vaccine, 70 per cent screening of women at ages 35 and 45 with high-performance tests and 90 per cent treatment for women with pre-invasive and invasive cervical lesions by the turn of the century.

Following a Stakeholders’ Summit on Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria, the Executive Director of the End Cervical Cancer Nigeria Initiative, ECCNI, Dr Ishak Lawal expressed optimism that Nigeria will join the league of countries that will be on the path to cervical cancer elimination.

He said massive progress can be made even without significant funding if stakeholders in cervical cancer advocacy in Nigeria can synergise their activities.

”The stakeholders’ summit on cervical cancer elimination in Nigeria, SSCCEN, was conceptualised to promote collaboration between stakeholders in cervical cancer advocacy space in Nigeria. The summit will provide a platform for cross-fertilization of ideas that will catalyse progress towards achieving cervical cancer elimination targets,” he said.

The SSCCEN, which provides a platform for collaboration and idea-sharing, will focus on tracking activities and developing strategies to accelerate progress.

This year’s summit will also emphasise scaling up best practices through the CCESA, “which celebrates excellence in cervical cancer advocacy and action.”

Meanwhile, rewarding excellence is one of the strategies the summit has adopted for scaling up best practices, hence, the Cervical Cancer Elimination Service Award, CCESA, to honour contributions from individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to achieving cervical cancer elimination targets in Nigeria.

Among the honourees are Dr Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu for her global advocacy and UNICEF Nigeria for its pivotal role in implementing Nigeria’s first standalone cervical cancer summit.

The former Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA, Dr Faisal Shuaib, will also be honoured for successfully introducing the HPV vaccine into Nigeria’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation.

Stakeholders boost advocacy for elimination of cervical cancer in Nigeria