Cervical Cancer Forum

Cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer affecting women with an estimated 570,000 new cases in 2018, representing 6.6% of all female cancers globally. Approximately 90% of deaths from cervical cancer occurred in low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated that deaths due to cervical cancer had reached around 11,000 deaths in 2018, in the east Mediterranean region only. The high mortality rate from cervical cancer can be reduced through a comprehensive approach that includes prevention, early diagnosis, effective screening, treatment programmes and palliative care. There are currently vaccines that protect against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, hence these vaccines can significantly reduce the risk of cervical cancer.HPV is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract and is the cause of a range of conditions in both females and males, including precancerous lesions that may progress to become cancerous. In women, persistent infection with specific oncogenic types of HPV (most frequently types 16 and 18) may lead to precancerous lesions which, if untreated, may progress to cervical cancer. Diagnosing cervical cancer at an early stage and providing access to effective treatment improves the likelihood of survival. Currently, in many low resource settings, the disease is often not identified until it is further advanced, or treatment is inaccessible, resulting in a higher rate of deaths from cervical cancer.Target 3.4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is exclusively dedicated to reduce premature mortality from Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) by one-third by 2030. The 2011 UN Political Declaration on NCDs and 2014 UN Outcome Document on NCDs includes time-bound commitments made by Heads of State and Government at the UN General Assembly to set national targets, develop national plans to address NCDs, including cervical cancer, and implement “best buy” interventions. Furthermore, the World Health Organization (WHO) urges that almost all cervical cancer related deaths could be avoided if all adolescent girls received a vaccine against HPV and cervical screening and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions is available to all women.The forum will review the “Sharjah Declaration on Cervical Cancer” 2019 efforts and aims to:
1. Bring together global stakeholders, including academia, community leaders, scientists, and policy makers to promote and enhance programmatic collaborations to more effectively address regional and national responses to HPV and cervical cancer in the Arab region since the previous forum.
2. Discuss the establishment of sustainable and equitable cervical cancer and HPV eradication programmes; including under conditions of health emergencies e.g. COVID-19.
The expected outcome of this forum is to propose a set of recommendations and a call for action for addressing cervical cancer that integrates the pillars of prevention, treatment, palliative care and social aspects globally and specifically in the Arab region.
Forum Logistics
The 2nd Cervical Cancer Forum will be a two-day event organized on 27-28 January 2021 virtually. The online forum platform will allow active interaction among panelists, speakers, and audience members. This modality was concluded as the best option to convene the forum in order to prioritize the safety of all forum participants within the COVID-19 pandemic situation, while at the same time ensuring the efficiency of the forum discussions and outcomes.