World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day
Next: November 17, 2026
A cancer the world can end.
The story
Where it comes from
On 17 November 2020, 194 countries committed for the first time to eliminate a cancer, and WHO launched its global strategy to end cervical cancer as a public health problem. In 2025 the World Health Assembly, in resolution WHA78.8, made the date World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day, first observed on 17 November 2025. It is the first official world health day aimed at eliminating a cancer. The main cause is human papillomavirus (HPV), and a vaccine can prevent it.
How it's celebrated
Countries use the day to launch vaccination campaigns and expand screening and treatment, working towards WHO's '90-70-90' targets for 2030: 90 per cent of girls vaccinated against HPV by age 15, 70 per cent of women screened by 35 and again by 45, and 90 per cent of women with cervical disease treated. For everyone else it is a reminder to book a screening, or to ask about the vaccine for a daughter.
Did you know
- WHO counts cervical cancer as eliminated as a public health problem once a country has fewer than four new cases per 100,000 women a year.
- Since 2022, WHO has advised that a single dose of HPV vaccine gives girls aged 9 to 14 protection comparable to two doses.
- Malaysia began free HPV vaccination for 13-year-old schoolgirls in 2010 and within two years was reaching about 250,000 girls a year.
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