WHO and African Union call for faster action on women's cancers
WHO, African Union and OAFLAD leaders urge governments to fund and expand breast and cervical cancer prevention, screening and treatment across Africa.
The story in focus
A joint commentary by WHO, African Union and OAFLAD leaders calls for women's cancers to move to the centre of Africa's health and financing agendas, citing 350,000 deaths across the continent in 2024 and gaps in prevention, screening and treatment.
- 350,000 women in Africa died from breast and cervical cancers in 2024, according to the commentary.
- It says African countries lag behind global progress on breast cancer survival and cervical cancer screening coverage.
- The authors call for domestic financing, HPV vaccination, screening and shorter times from detection to treatment.
What the commentary says
The commentary, first published by UN Africa Renewal on 12 October 2026 and carried by WHO, is signed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, OAFLAD President Fatima Maada Bio and African Union Commissioner Amma Twum-Amoah. It reports that 350,000 women across the continent died from breast and cervical cancers in 2024, often because prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment came too late or were out of reach.
The authors say the burden is rising and that diagnosis frequently happens at advanced stages, when treatment is harder, costlier and less likely to succeed. They cite WHO's latest Global Status Report on Cancer, issued this year, which provided the first global estimates of breast cancer survival and cervical cancer screening coverage and showed the continent lagging behind progress elsewhere.
Measures proposed
The authors call on governments to integrate women's cancers into national health strategies, primary health care, essential benefit packages and domestic financing. Partners are urged to support country-led priorities and sustainable systems rather than fragmented interventions, while parliamentarians are asked to back legislation, budgets and accountability.
Practical steps listed include expanding HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening and breast health awareness; shortening the time from detection to diagnosis and treatment; and strengthening pathology, imaging, referral, surgery, radiotherapy, medicines, palliative care and survivorship support. The authors also call for protecting families from financial hardship caused by cancer care, and say such investments would reinforce primary health care and progress toward universal health coverage.
What did the commentary report about women's cancer deaths in Africa?
It said 350,000 women across the continent died from breast and cervical cancers in 2024, often because prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment were too late or inaccessible.
Sources & further reading
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