Every two minutes somewhere in the world, a woman dies of cervical cancer.
"The real damage done by this horrible disease is in the developing world. There are about 500,000 cases worldwide every year, and more than half the women die. About 80% of the deaths are in poor countries. These countries don't have screening programs. They don't have the surgery and radiotherapy to treat cervical cancer, either. The women who die are often mothers and breadwinners, leaving struggling families. A simple vaccine - two or three injections for every girl - could transform their prospects." — Sarah Boseley, The Guardian, 2008
The opportunity to improve and save lives by introducing the HPV vaccine in places where women’s health care services are very limited is vast: it offers the chance to not only prevent cervical cancer but to provide additional health care for millions of girls and women in the developing world.
In July 2009 the World Health Organization approved a second HPV vaccination for use in the developing world.
The main obstacle to providing women in the developing world with this life-saving vaccine is the cost of it, currently about $360 for the three required doses, far too much for most government health care systems in poor countries to be able to afford without our help.
"While richer nations are taking the proper steps to protect their women from cervical cancer, women in developing countries are dying. We can and must stop this inequality." —Dr. Julian Lob-Levyt
- In India, about 70,000 women die every year of cervical cancer: it is the #1 cause of death by cancer among Indian women
- In Latin America and the Caribbean, cervical cancer is one of the major causes of mortality among women
- In Africa, more than 250 million girls and women aged 15 years and older are at risk for developing cervical cancer -- the leading cause of death by cancer among women on the continent. Of the 80,000 African women diagnosed with this disease each year, nearly 80% will die of it
"It is one of the miracles of our young century that cervical cancer prevention now comes in a vial. The HPV vaccine is built on Nobel-recognized science. It is effective. It is safe... And it is needed most in the places where it is hardest to get it." — Lance Armstrong and John Seffrin in the Washington Post, 2008
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