As part of the G20 Social Summit, global and regional partners met for a high-level policy dialogue focused on accelerating progress towards the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2030 goal of eliminating cervical cancer. The event, titled Sharing of Best Practices on Accelerating Cervical Cancer Elimination, brought together government leaders, NGOs, private- sector experts and international partners to strengthen collective action. It comes at a crucial moment for the country, as cervical cancer remains one of South Africa’s most pressing public health threats.
Cervical cancer ranks as the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide.¹ It is the second most common cancer among South African women aged 15–44 and the leading cause of cancer-related death in this age group.² More than 95% of cases are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV).¹ Almost all sexually active people will be infected with HPV at some point in their lives, usually without symptoms.1 In most cases, the immune system clears HPV from the body.1 Persistent infections with high-risk HPV, however, can cause abnormal cells to develop, which can go on to become cancer.1
Nearly 6 000 South African women die every year from cervical cancer,² a burden that falls disproportionately on women living with HIV, who are six times more likely to develop the disease.¹ 85% of women with both cervical cancer and HIV live in sub-Saharan Africa, underscoring the urgency of strong prevention strategies.³
In his keynote address, Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi called cervical cancer “a matter of social justice and gender equality”. He reaffirmed South Africa’s commitment to WHO’s 90- 70-90 targets:
• 90% of girls fully vaccinated by age 15
• 70% of women screened at least twice in their lifetime
• 90% of women with pre-cancer or cancer receiving appropriate treatment
The Minister reported that six million girls have been vaccinated through the national school- based campaign since 2014 and confirmed that the Department of Health will now extend the programme to independent and private schools and will implement WHO’s single-dose HPV guidelines.
He stressed that the next phase of South Africa’s strategy must strengthen screening and treatment pathways, improve referral pathways and intensify community engagement to overcome vaccine hesitancy. Too many women are still diagnosed late because they lack access to timely HPV DNA testing and consistent follow-up. Improving screening and ensuring access to treatments such as thermal ablation, he said, are vital to protecting adult women at highest risk – particularly those living with HIV – and are central to women’s health, dignity and social justice, and will protect the rights of women to receive timely, respectful and equitable care regardless of where they live or their socio-economic circumstances.
Zwelethu Bashman, Managing Director of MSD South Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa, underscored MSD’s commitment to advancing HPV prevention within the public-health agenda, evidenced by the company’s development of both the quadrivalent and nonavalent (9-valent) vaccines — the latter offering the broadest protection against nine HPV types, including seven high-risk cancer-causing types.
“MSD is the largest supplier of HPV vaccines across the continent, supporting vaccination programmes in over 30 African countries and contributing to the vaccination of more than 17 million girls,” Bashman said. “Through our partnership with UNICEF and Gavi, MSD has supplied over 115 million doses globally between 2021 and 2025, backed by a USD 2 billion investment in manufacturing capacity to ensure supply continuity.”
Vaccine hesitancy was identified as a major barrier by both government and industry. Bashman noted that a large share of MSD continues to invest significantly in disease awareness and education, healthcare worker education and community-based communication efforts – working closely with patient advocacy groups and leveraging all communication channels, including health influencers to strengthen confidence in HPV vaccination and addressing misinformation.
Neo Molusi, External Affairs Lead: Southern Africa Network, Director: Roche Diagnostics and Diabetes Care, said early detection remains one of the most powerful tools in the fight against cervical cancer. “When identified at an early stage, the five-year relative survival rate is as high as 91%. Once the disease has spread significantly, that figure drops to just 19%. This is why timely access to high-quality diagnostics is lifesaving.”
Without diagnostics, he said, medicine is blind. “Strong health systems begin with the ability to detect, confirm and monitor disease at scale. If we want to change outcomes, we must start with diagnostics. To screen 70% of women by age 35 – the middle pillar of the 90-70-90 targets – scale matters. High-throughput diagnostic platforms make it possible for countries to process the volume required reliably and efficiently, ensuring that no woman is left behind.”
Minister Motsoaledi emphasised that community engagement and visible public campaigns are essential to overcome hesitancy, rejecting criticism that awareness launches “waste resources”. He drew parallels with South Africa’s successful HIV testing campaigns, noting that visibility drives understanding, questions and ultimately uptake.
Bashman highlighted four critical interventions that form a unified call to action for accelerating cervical cancer prevention in South Africa:
- Expanding vaccination to adult women, especially those living with HIV. It is especially concerning that when comparing women living with HIV with the general population, they are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer and they are more likely to develop cervical cancer at a younger age. This co-infection burden is greatest in sub-Saharan Africa, where about 63.8 % of new cervical cancer cases in 2018 occured in women living with HIV.3 In 2023, Botswana introduced a dedicated cervical cancer prevention strategy as part of their Integrated HIV Clinical Care Guidelines. These guidelines have outlined the role of higher-valency HPV vaccines in preventing cervical cancer and other HPV-related illnesses.4 In November 2024, Eswatini also expanded HPV vaccination to include young girls and adolescents living with HIV.5 These two Southern African countries, which have some of the highest HIV-prevalence rates in the world6, are setting the benchmark in protecting this vulnerable group of girls and women.
- Introducing gender-neutral vaccination, which evidence shows makes programmes more resilient
- Accelerating adoption of the higher valency vaccines
- Expanding access to innovative cancer treatments
The panel discussion identified several national imperatives:
Strengthening cancer surveillance and data systems is also essential. Current national figures capture only laboratory-confirmed cases, underscoring the need for more complete and reliable reporting. Priorities include automating systems and developing a national cancer dashboard to make data more accessible. Expanding population-based cancer registration is critical for understanding the true burden of cervical cancer and monitoring the long-term impact of HPV vaccination, supported by additional resources and private-sector participation. Industry leaders together with civil society and policy makers added valuable perspectives that supported the broader dialogue on coordinated approaches to cervical cancer elimination.
Reducing costs, improving health literacy and creating dignified care environments were identified as essential to driving demand. Community engagement – through advisory boards, small-grant mechanisms and partnerships that link scientific advances with lived experience were highlighted as key to ensuring equity. Without this, lifesaving technologies risk remaining unused while women continue to die from a preventable disease.
Speakers agreed that political commitment must now translate into stronger delivery: higher vaccination coverage, improved screening, decisive action on vaccine hesitancy and strengthened treatment pathways. A positive development is the growing role of private-sector partners in public education, healthcare worker training, diagnostics and supply-chain support, alongside civil-society organisations driving community-level demand for HPV vaccination.