Launch of the WHO Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer

The World Health Organization (WHO) is today formally launching the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is supporting this WHO initiative by providing key evidence, technical materials, and updates for policy-makers, programme managers, and experts implementing the Global Strategy.

One such IARC publication is the Atlas of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid for screening, triage, and assessment for treatment. This digital atlas describes the use of visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) as a primary screening test or as a test to triage women who test positive for oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) types, and explains how application of dilute acetic acid to the cervix can help in determining eligibility for ablative treatment. The atlas, which is freely available on the IARC website, was published today to mark the launch of the Global Strategy.

In May 2018, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus made a global call for action towards the elimination of cervical cancer. As a result, 194 countries collectively resolved to end needless suffering from cervical cancer, a cancer that the world can eliminate because it is both preventable and curable. IARC has been at the forefront of research to establish the causal role of HPV infection in cervical cancer, evaluate the safety and efficacy of HPV vaccines, and identify simplified alternatives for screening in low- and middle-income countries.

View the atlas

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