Global push to eliminate cervical cancer gains momentum at UNGA 79 after Biden announcement
“We are more than half way through the WHO timeline for cervical cancer elimination, with fewer than 5 percent of women screened (in low- and middle-income countries),” said Dr. Neil Buddy Shah at a CHAI and Unitaid-led roundtable held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79), earlier this week.
The roundtable came days after US President Joe Biden and leaders from Australia, India, and Japan announced a new Quad Cancer Moonshot.
The moonshot aims to strengthen the cancer care ecosystem in the Indo-Pacific, starting with cervical cancer, which is entirely preventable through vaccination yet today still kills one woman every two minutes, according to the WHO.
The announcement energized global health organizations, including CHAI, as they headed into the roundtable discussion.
The roundtable featured Rwanda’s Minister of Health, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana as well as the State Minister from Nigeria, and Principal Secretaries from Zimbabwe and Zambia. White House and Australian government officials, the WHO, World Bank, GFF, and donors also attended. Discussion focused on the need to scale what works, while continuing to innovate.
Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, shared the country’s ambitious target of eliminating cervical cancer by 2027—three years ahead of the WHO’s 2030 target. Rwanda has already screened 30 percent of women targeted. In fact, two districts have reached 100 percent screening coverage, Dr. Nsanzimana shared.
CHAI is supporting the Rwandan-led program, as well as similar programs in 11 other countries. The goal, to develop and deliver affordable, effective tools to screen and treat pre-cancer. Together with work on HPV vaccination roll-out, this is critical to eliminate the disease.
US$15M TB initiative launched in India as UN tackles drug-resistant tuberculosis
At the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting, CHAI and GiveWell, alongside IDinsight, announced a US$15 million project to prevent the spread of tuberculosis (TB) among children under five in India. The commitment supports India’s own ambitious goal to eliminate TB by next year.
Under the project, healthcare workers will conduct home visits to screen for TB and, where appropriate, immediately offer children treatment. The treatment, 3HP, is shorter and has fewer side effects than traditional treatments.
An independent cluster-randomized controlled trial will assess the project’s impact. If the data is solid, there is significant opportunity to scale the approach. This is the second program to develop out of an innovative CHAI-led, GiveWell funded incubator that finds new and existing cost-effective projects.
TB was also a focal point when world leaders officially adopted the Political Declaration on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) at the UN High-level Meeting on AMR, Thursday. The declaration recognized drug-resistant tuberculosis as a crucial piece of the global AMR response. The declaration set a goal to reduce the 1.27 million global deaths associated with AMR by 10 percent by 2030, according to Stop TB Partnership.
Other notable moments
- On Monday, advocates took over Times Square to highlight the rights of people who need assistive technology. The event was timed to coincide with UNGA 79’s Summit of the Future. The #UnlockTheEveryday campaign unveiled the largest eye test ever, reminding the world a billion people need glasses but lack access.
- USAID and UNICEF announced a US$150 million public-private partnership to eliminate lead exposure. Lead exposure kills over 1.5 million people annually and affects 1 in 3 children globally. US first lady, Jill Biden and leaders from Malawi, Nepal, and the Dominican Republic announced the partnership at UNICEF headquarters.
- The Gates Foundation’s annual Goalkeepers report urged greater focus on nutrition to help meet the Sustainable Development Goals. The report outlines four strategies that Bill Gates believes could solve malnutrition.
