The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was recognized today for its efforts in cervical cancer prevention, receiving the ?Women in Government Presidential Leadership Award for a Commitment to the Elimination of Cervical Cancer? from the non-profit, bi-partisan organization that represents women state legislators in the United States.

Dr. Jon Andrus, the lead technical advisor at PAHO?s Immunization Unit, said “It?s not just about having a vaccine that can prevent cervical cancer. The challenge of national immunization programs around the world is to deploy this important life-saving technology to those women who need it most. The problem is that 80 percent of women who die of cervical cancer are generally poor and live in underserved areas, and will be the ones to benefit most as we work hard to create affordable prices and access to this vaccine for them.”

The award, which went to PAHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was given at the Women in Government?s summit on cervical cancer and HPV vaccine, which is part of their Challenge to Eliminate Cervical Campaign, an effort to increase awareness about and decrease the incidence of cervical cancer.

Approximately 80 percent of the nearly 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer worldwide occur in developing nations, and PAHO estimates that more than 37,600 deaths due to cervical cancer occur annually in the Americas and Caribbean. A recent PAHO Situational Analysis of Cervical Cancer in Latin America and the Caribbean found that cervical cancer screening programs in the region have generally failed to reduce cases and mortality rates largely because of inadequacies in treatment and follow-up. According to the report, incidence and mortality rates from cervical cancer have declined steeply in North America, to below 10 per 100,000 females in both Canada and the United States. Yet rates in most Latin American and Caribbean countries are higher than 20 cases per 100,000 (in many cases, much higher) and are surpassed only by rates found in East Africa and Melanesia. These higher rates persist even though screening programs are found in countries throughout the region.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a five-year, $50 million grant in 1999 to the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention, a group of five international organizations including PAHO, with a shared goal of working to prevent cervical cancer in developing countries. The Alliance works with developing-country partners to assess innovative approaches to screening and treatment, improve service-delivery systems, ensure that community perspectives and needs are incorporated into program design, and heighten awareness of cervical cancer and effective prevention strategies.

Dr. Gina Tambini, Area Manager of Family and Community Health at PAHO, said the HPV vaccine is one of a series of new vaccines that are now available to protect the whole family, from children to women of childbearing age to seniors. “We need to reach underserved communities with these vaccines and keep working to reduce inequities in health services, which is essential to maintain current achievements and strengthen national capacity,” Dr. Tambini said. “With the advances achieved by regional immunization programs in the Americas and the availability of new vaccines, there is a new opportunity to promote an integrated concept of health for children, women, seniors and the whole family, using prevention, health promotion, treatment and rehabilitation interventions.?

A vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer, was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in June. The vaccine, known as Gardasil, is effective in preventing infections with the HPV types (16 and 18) that cause approximately 70 percent of all cervical cancers, and with those types (6 and 11) that cause approximately 90 percent of genital warts. Gardasil and another HPV vaccine, called Cervarix, are under regulatory review in countries around the world and may offer a new opportunity to eliminate cervical cancer, the number-two cancer killer of women.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest public health organization. It serves as the regional office of the World Health Organization, and works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their peoples.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was recognized today for its efforts in cervical cancer prevention, receiving the ?Women in Government Presidential Leadership Award for a Commitment to the Elimination of Cervical Cancer? from the non-profit, bi-partisan organization that represents women state legislators in the United States.

Dr. Jon Andrus, the lead technical advisor at PAHO?s Immunization Unit, said “It?s not just about having a vaccine that can prevent cervical cancer. The challenge of national immunization programs around the world is to deploy this important life-saving technology to those women who need it most. The problem is that 80 percent of women who die of cervical cancer are generally poor and live in underserved areas, and will be the ones to benefit most as we work hard to create affordable prices and access to this vaccine for them.”

The award, which went to PAHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was given at the Women in Government?s summit on cervical cancer and HPV vaccine, which is part of their Challenge to Eliminate Cervical Campaign, an effort to increase awareness about and decrease the incidence of cervical cancer.

Approximately 80 percent of the nearly 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer worldwide occur in developing nations, and PAHO estimates that more than 37,600 deaths due to cervical cancer occur annually in the Americas and Caribbean. A recent PAHO Situational Analysis of Cervical Cancer in Latin America and the Caribbean found that cervical cancer screening programs in the region have generally failed to reduce cases and mortality rates largely because of inadequacies in treatment and follow-up. According to the report, incidence and mortality rates from cervical cancer have declined steeply in North America, to below 10 per 100,000 females in both Canada and the United States. Yet rates in most Latin American and Caribbean countries are higher than 20 cases per 100,000 (in many cases, much higher) and are surpassed only by rates found in East Africa and Melanesia. These higher rates persist even though screening programs are found in countries throughout the region.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a five-year, $50 million grant in 1999 to the Alliance for Cervical Cancer Prevention, a group of five international organizations including PAHO, with a shared goal of working to prevent cervical cancer in developing countries. The Alliance works with developing-country partners to assess innovative approaches to screening and treatment, improve service-delivery systems, ensure that community perspectives and needs are incorporated into program design, and heighten awareness of cervical cancer and effective prevention strategies.

Dr. Gina Tambini, Area Manager of Family and Community Health at PAHO, said the HPV vaccine is one of a series of new vaccines that are now available to protect the whole family, from children to women of childbearing age to seniors. “We need to reach underserved communities with these vaccines and keep working to reduce inequities in health services, which is essential to maintain current achievements and strengthen national capacity,” Dr. Tambini said. “With the advances achieved by regional immunization programs in the Americas and the availability of new vaccines, there is a new opportunity to promote an integrated concept of health for children, women, seniors and the whole family, using prevention, health promotion, treatment and rehabilitation interventions.?

A vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer, was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in June. The vaccine, known as Gardasil, is effective in preventing infections with the HPV types (16 and 18) that cause approximately 70 percent of all cervical cancers, and with those types (6 and 11) that cause approximately 90 percent of genital warts. Gardasil and another HPV vaccine, called Cervarix, are under regulatory review in countries around the world and may offer a new opportunity to eliminate cervical cancer, the number-two cancer killer of women.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) was established in 1902 and is the world’s oldest public health organization. It serves as the regional office of the World Health Organization, and works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and quality of life of their peoples.