Understanding the WHO global strategy to accelerate cervical cancer elimination – Authors' reply

The Lancet Global Health 2026 Open access

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Authors: Adidja Amani, Paul N. Bloem, Emily Kobayashi, Brian Atuhaire, Charles Shey Wiysonge, Bénido Impouma
DOI: 10.1016/s2214-109x(26)00011-2
Cited by: 0
References: 3

Abstract

We thank Victoire Fokom Defo and Joël Fokom Domgue for their Correspondence and welcome the opportunity to clarify an important conceptual distinction. We agree that population-level elimination of cervical cancer (defined as incidence ≤4 per 100 000 women-years) will not be achieved by 2030, even under optimistic scenarios, given the disease's long natural history. Our Comment did not intend to suggest otherwise.1 The 2030 horizon denotes WHO implementation targets: 90% human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination coverage by age 15 years, 70% screening with high-performance tests by ages 35 and 45 years, and 90% treatment of women identified with precancer or invasive disease.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Cervical Cancer and HPV Research Women's cancer prevention and management Global Cancer Incidence and Screening

Publication details

Journal / source
The Lancet Global Health
Volume
14
Issue
3
Pages
e335–e335
Publication date
16 January 2026
Language
EN