This week marks Cervical Cancer Prevention week (23 – 29 January), and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust has launched a new campaign to end cervical cancer.
Following on from a global call for action from the World Health Organisation to eliminate cervical cancer, Jo’s Trust has published a new report highlighting the opportunities and challenges to making this aim a reality in the UK.
In the report, Jo’s Trust details the current inequalities in coverage of the cervical screening programme across different UK regions and demographics, with almost one in three women not up to date with their cervical screening.
The report calls for the UK Governments to commit to eliminating cervical cancer, and to develop strategies with ambitious targets to increase access and reduce inequalities.
Commenting on the report, Dr Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said:
“We are hugely supportive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust’s report and mission to eliminate cervical cancer in the UK.
“The report sets out key opportunities to reduce inequalities and actions to tackle cervical cancer – increasing symptom awareness, increasing uptake of cervical screenings by removing barriers to access and adopting evidenced-based innovations, and ensuring that there is accurate and accessible patient-centred information throughout every woman’s life. Everyone should have equal access to services and information.
“We join Jo’s Trust in calling for Government action to embrace these opportunities and eliminate cervical cancer in the UK.”
ENDS
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Notes to editors
- Read the full report here