๐ recommendations for screening and treatment to prevent #CervicalCancer will help countries take the next step towards elimination. Cervical #cancer is the 4th most common cancer among women worldwide ๐๐๐
#CervicalCancer is almost entirely preventable and treatable with the HPV vaccine, screening and treatment - but in 2020, more than half a million women ๐ฉโ๐ฆฐ๐ต๐ง contracted the disease, and over 340 000 women died as a result.
This must change.
The ๐ recommendations have ๐ updates for countries working to meet the life-saving targets set out in the WHO Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of #CervicalCancer by 2030:
๐ฏ70% of women are regularly screened
๐ฏ90% of women with the disease receive treatment
For all women, the ๐ #CervicalCancer guidelines now recommend the HPV DNA ๐งฌ test as the primary method for cervical screening.
This detects the high-risk strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause almost all cervical cancers.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) causes more than 9 in 10 cervical cancers.
With appropriate health sector support, HPV self-sampling can help improve screening rates since it is:
โ Easy
โ Convenient
โ Private
โ Less painful
โ Cheap
#CervicalCancer data reflect staggering inequalities. Nearly 9โฃ0โฃ% of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where access to public health services is limited and screening and treatment for the disease have not been widely implemented.
Women who are immunocompromised, such as those living with #HIV, are more likely to have persistent HPV infections & a more rapid progression to pre-cancer & #cancer. The ๐ guidelines incl. additional recommendations specifically for ๐ฉโ๐ฆฐ living with HIV
๐ bit.ly/3jNfkki
All adult women ๐ต๐ง๐ฉโ๐ฆฐ๐ฉโโ๏ธ should undergo periodic screening to detect pre-cancer changes in the cervix which, if untreated, can develop into #CervicalCancer.
In #Nigeria ๐ณ๐ฌ, WHO supports #CervicalCancer elimination by:
๐งพhelping develop & implement a national plan to fight the disease
๐ฅbuilding health sector capacity
๐ฉ๐พโโ๏ธtraining >1000 care providers & health officials
โ providing guidance & treatment tools
"The world is at a perilous point in this pandemic.
We have just passed the tragic milestone of 4 million recorded #COVID19 deaths, which likely underestimates the overall toll"-@DrTedros
@DrTedros "Some countries with high vaccination coverage are now planning to rollout booster shots in the coming months and are dropping public health social measures and relaxing as though the #COVID19 pandemic is already over"-@DrTedros
๐ treatment recommendation from WHO:
WHO recommends life-saving interleukin-6 receptor blockers to treat #COVID19 and urges producers to join efforts to rapidly increase access.
Interleukin-6 receptor blockers are a class of medicines that are lifesaving in patients who are severely or critically ill with #COVID19, especially when administered alongside corticosteroids.
Patients severely or critically ill with #COVID19 often suffer from an overreaction of the immune system, which can be very harmful to the patientโs health. Interleukin-6 blocking drugs โ tocilizumab and sarilumab โ act to suppress this overreaction.
Limited electricity, lack of fuel, damaged telecommunications equipment, no cellular service = barriers to delivering life-saving health services to people in #Tigray, ๐ช๐น. WHO must be able to provide medical supplies for #healthworkers to use in clinics, hospitals.
WHO teams have delivered medical supplies to Abi Addi hospital in #Tigray, ๐ช๐น, enabling #healthworkers to give emergency care to patients.
Essential medicines for a range of conditions have been delivered to Hagere Selam, a town in Northern ๐ช๐น. Itโs one of many health care facilities WHO and partners are supporting to ensure life-saving health services can be restored. #Tigray
WHO pledges extensive commitments towards womenโs empowerment & health with focus on:
โ ending gender-based violence
โ advancing sexual & reproductive health & rights
โ supporting health workers, as well as feminist movements & leadership bit.ly/3qKvYlW#ActForEqual
WHO recognizes the health sector has an important role to play in preventing and responding to gender-based violence against women and girls bit.ly/3qKvYlW
WHO also committed to investing in the evidence base for sexual & reproductive health and rights, incl. delivering comprehensive sexuality education outside school settings; improving access to quality & rights-based family planning; access to & use of contraception #ActForEqual
๐ WHO List of Priority Medical Devices for management of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes bit.ly/3qMKcCC
The WHO List of Priority Medical Devices for management of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes incl. >500 devices that to test, monitor and treat these diseases bit.ly/3qMKcCC
List aims to help health-care providers detect and manage heart conditions & diabetes, leading to fewer hospitalizations and deaths and the saving of precious health resources bit.ly/3qMKcCC
"This week, WHO hosted a two-day Summit with heads of state, heads of governments, ministers and civil society leaders from Small Island Developing States, which focused on building resilient health systems in the face of multiple threats."-@DrTedros
"Climate crisis, the severe impact of the pandemic on lives and livelihoods, vaccine inequity and the large burden of noncommunicable diseases were discussed and concrete outcomes developed on how together we can tackle them."-@DrTedros