The day of action brings together countries, health organizations, and partners to launch vaccination campaigns, expand screening and treatment services, and intensify efforts to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat. Cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer among women globally, is largely preventable with timely vaccination and treatment.
The commemoration reinforces the WHO’s global elimination strategy, which aims to vaccinate 90% of girls against human papillomavirus (HPV), screen 70% of women, and ensure that 90% of women with pre-cancer or invasive cervical cancer receive appropriate treatment. The initiative is designed to drive advocacy, increase access to care, and mobilize resources to save lives.
“In 2018, I launched the global call to action on cervical cancer elimination. Today, I’m proud to see that vision becoming a reality,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Countries are scaling up HPV vaccination, improving screening, and expanding treatment, bringing us closer to a future free of cervical cancer.”
The urgency of the campaign is reflected in a recent announcement by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which reported that the goal of reaching 86 million girls with HPV vaccination by 2025 has already been met. This milestone underscores the broader global commitment to national elimination plans and expanding access to life-saving services.
Countries are taking visible action to mark the day. In Sierra Leone and Liberia, vaccination campaigns aim to reach over 1.5 million girls, while Sierra Leone also plans a nationwide screening initiative and an awareness walk across all 16 districts. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, cervical cancer survivors are leading a week-long campaign promoting self-sampling HPV testing, a key innovation for increasing screening coverage.
World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day serves as both a call to action and a reminder: cervical cancer is preventable, and with sustained global effort, a future without the disease is within reach.
This past year has seen significant country-level action, providing a powerful foundation for the new annual commemoration.
- Angola: Launched an HPV vaccination campaign in October for girls aged 9-12 years.
- China: Added HPV vaccine into its national immunization programme, scaling up vaccination to all 13-year-old girls.
- Cuba: Launched HPV vaccination in October 2025 for all girls in Grade 4.
- Ghana: Held a nationwide vaccination campaign in October 2025 for girls aged 9-14 years, aiming to reach 2.4 million girls.
- Indonesia: Hosted the Second Global Forum for Cervical Cancer Elimination and reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating cervical cancer by 2030 through bold national targets (90-75-90), a strong partnership ecosystem, and substantial investments in vaccination, screening, and treatment under its National Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan 2023-2030.
- Nepal: Ran a nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targeting girls aged 10-14 years in February 2025, to mark the introduction of the HPV vaccine in the national immunization schedule.
- Nigeria: Launched a nationwide cervical cancer elimination effort, with the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu committing US$ 700 000 through the 'Renewed Hope Initiative'. The investment further affirms Nigeria's leadership and support for WHO's elimination targets, reflected also in its co-leadership of the resolution establishing World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day.
- Pakistan: Launched the national HPV vaccine introduction through a campaign targeting girls aged 9-14, reaching over 9 million girls in what is to date the largest single HPV campaign any country has every conducted.
- Rwanda: Through Mission 2027, its Accelerated Plan for Elimination, the country is rapidly expanding nationwide screening and treatment services to meet the 90-70-90 targets by 2027, three years ahead of the global goal.
- Spain: Through the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), Spain's three-year investment is supporting the WHO Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative to strengthen access to HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment in countries of the WHO African and Eastern Mediterranean Regions.
- South Africa: Placed cervical cancer elimination on the global stage as part of its G20 health agenda, reaffirming the country's steadfast support for the WHO Global Strategy. The country also co-led the resolution establishing World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day and is finalizing its National Strategic Framework for Cervical Cancer Elimination, to be launched later this year.
- Tajikistan: Launched HPV vaccination for all girls aged 10-14 years in its routine immunization schedule from October 2025.
- Tunisia: Introduced the HPV vaccine into its routine immunization programme for 12-year-old girls in April 2025.
- Across WHO Western Pacific Region, Unitaid and WHO have expanded their partnership to strengthen cervical cancer prevention and treatment programmes, supporting equitable access to screening and treatment services for precancer