Cervical cancer

Today, the world marks a landmark moment in public health: the first-ever World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day. Designated earlier this year by the World Health Assembly, the day represents the world’s first official commitment to eliminating a cancer – one that is fully preventable, detectable and treatable when systems function as they should. The global movement began on November 17, 2020, when 194 countries endorsed the WHO’s strategy to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat. Since then, governments and communities across the world have been working to expand HPV vaccination, high-performance screening and timely treatment. This year’s theme, ‘Act Now: Eliminate Cervical Cancer’, urges countries to accelerate efforts to meet the 2030 targets: vaccinating 90 per cent of girls against HPV by age 15; screening 70 per cent of women with a high-performance test by age 35 and again at 45; and ensuring that 90 per cent of women identified with cervical disease receive prompt treatment. These targets are ambitious, but globally attainable – if countries act together and decisively.

For Pakistan, the day arrives as both an opportunity and a reminder of how far we still have to go. Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among Pakistani women, claiming around 3,000 lives every year. Nearly all these deaths could be prevented. Yet Pakistan has one of the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in South Asia, driven largely by delayed diagnoses and minimal access to preventive care. This year’s HPV vaccination campaign should have pushed us closer to the global elimination pathway. Instead, it exposed the cracks in our public health communication. With a success rate stuck around 20 per cent, the drive faltered not because the vaccine is ineffective but because misinformation thrives where trust in institutions is weak. WhatsApp forwards, rumour networks and anti-vaccine influencers reached families long before the government did. World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day forces us to confront a difficult but necessary truth: Pakistan does not have a science problem; it has a narrative problem. Authorities continue relying on outdated modes of communication – press releases, English-language seminars and the occasional photo-op. These gestures do not reach the households where decisions about teenage girls’ health are actually made. Trust is the missing ingredient, and trust requires long-term, respectful engagement.

Digital engagement remains our greatest missed opportunity. Public interest in the HPV vaccine surged in mid-September, a moment tailor-made for TikTok Q&As, YouTube Live sessions with doctors, community-language explainers and collaborations with influencers trusted by the very audiences where hesitancy is highest. That moment passed with little official presence. Still, Pakistan has taken the crucial first step by introducing the HPV vaccine into its national immunisation programme. The next steps must focus on building narratives, not just launching campaigns. Influencers, teachers, midwives and community leaders must be treated as essential partners, not afterthoughts. The tools exist. The targets are clear. The science is settled. What remains is the will to act to ensure that cervical cancer becomes a disease of the past, not a continuing tragedy for future generations.