Unitaid commits $50M to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030

Unitaid commits $50M to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030 

By Hope Mafaranga 

With just five years left to meet global 2030 targets for cervical cancer elimination, Unitaid is launching a new phase of work to help countries accelerate progress. 

Announced at the Global Forum on Cervical Cancer Elimination, held in Indonesia yesterday, Unitaid will commit an immediate $18m part of a broader $50m package through 2026 to support countries across four continents scale up life-saving screening and early treatment.  

This comes at a critical moment. While human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination protects younger generations who have not yet been exposed to the virus, hundreds of millions of women worldwide are at risk and need timely access to screening and treatment. 

Without it, cervical cancer will remain one of the leading though most preventable causes of cancer death for women in low- and middle-income countries.  

Marisol Touraine, Chair of Unitaid’s Executive Board, said the new investments are designed to fast-track elimination efforts in a subset of countries, while supporting solutions that are country-owned, regionally tailored, and globally relevant. 

Touraine said a strong learning agenda and a focus on health financing challenges will ensure that progress goes beyond small-scale implementation and individual countries, benefiting systems, communities and regions.  

Building on more than six years of experience, Unitaid and its partners will support governments to expand access to affordable HPV testing and portable treatment devices, develop national strategies, and bring services closer to women whether in remote villages, island states, or urban clinics.   

“This is more than a financial commitment. It is a strategic response to what countries have told us they need: affordable diagnostics, decentralized treatment, and support for solutions designed and led at the national level. With this new phase of work, we are reaffirming our commitment to equity, innovation, and women’s health. The tools exist, the will is growing and what’s needed now is aligned, concrete action,” he said.  

Programmes are now launching across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.  

One of the programmes is the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) that will enhance support in Rwanda and South Africa, where governments are putting forward ambitious plans to meet 2030 elimination targets, while progress in India, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, have also prioritized elimination.  

Expertise France will help build resilient secondary prevention services for cervical cancer in Myanmar, support the Government of the Philippines in its elimination efforts by exploring effective delivery models in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, and strengthen regional advocacy and cancer treatment capacity through collaboration with the National Cancer Center of Japan.  

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will aid efforts to scale up services and lower the cost of HPV tests by leveraging the PAHO Regional Revolving Fund, a regional procurement mechanism accessible to all countries. 

In Asia and the Pacific, the Regional Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) will offer targeted technical assistance to Lao, Mongolia, and Papua New Guinea. Additionally, access will be expanded via catalytic donations of thermal ablation devices used for removing precancerous lesions across several Pacific Island countries. 

“In South Africa, we are committed to scaling up access to screening and treatment through our public health system alongside HPV vaccination efforts which have benefitted over 4 million girls,” said Dr. Lesley Bamford, National Department of Health, South Africa. 

“As a country, we welcome Unitaid’s continued support in bringing these tools closer to the women who need them. Eliminating cervical cancer is not only possible – it is essential to advancing health equity and strengthening our broader goal of universal health coverage.” 

In parallel to country-level support, Unitaid will address some of the greatest barriers to scale: fragmented markets, uneven pricing and constrained financing, while enabling South-South collaboration and community voices to ensure countries have the tools, evidence and support needed to deliver at speed and scale.  

These efforts are designed to help countries reach the WHO’s 90-70-90 targets for elimination – 90% of girls vaccinated, 70% of women screened, and 90% of those in need receiving treatment – to make cervical cancer the first cancer ever eliminated. 

Dr Jarbas Barbosa, Director of PAHO said through PAHO’s Regional Revolving Funds, HPV vaccines, HPV tests and ablative treatment devices are available to our Member States at one unique price regardless of the purchase size. 

“PAHO’s commitment to support Member States in reaching the elimination targets for 90% HPV vaccine coverage, 70% screening coverage and 90% treatment coverage is reinforced by the PAHO Disease Elimination Initiative,” he Barbosa.

Jeremie Pellet, CEO of expertise France said: “We are proud to continue this crucial work on cervical cancer prevention with Unitaid, whose trust since 2020 has been key. By scaling up a proven model in Myanmar and the Philippines, Expertise France is deepening its impact, contributing to the global elimination goal, and affirming its role as a leading force in the fight against cervical cancer.” 

Jeremy Farrar, ADG, Division of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control at the WHO   said no woman should be left behind in accessing life-saving tools to prevent and treat cervical cancer. Achieving this goal requires collective action. 

“WHO welcomes Unitaid’s continued leadership and investment helping countries turn innovation into impact, faster. With governments, civil society, and partners like Unitaid, we can save lives faster and make cervical cancer elimination a reality,” he said.