Stakeholders Launch ‘Cervical Cancer Elimination Service’ Award

Stakeholders in Nigeria have launched the Cervical Cancer Elimination Service Award (CCESA) to recognise outstanding contributions to the fight against the disease.

The award aligns with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative (CCEI), which set ambitious global targets for eliminating cervical cancer by the turn of the century.

The WHO launched the Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative on November 17, 2020, with a roadmap to achieve the elimination threshold of fewer than four cases per 100,000 women.

The targets include 90 per cent vaccination coverage of girls aged 9–14 with the HPV vaccine, 70 per cent screening of women at ages 35 and 45 with high-performance tests and 90 per cent treatment for women with pre-invasive and invasive cervical lesions.

Inspired by WHO’s strategy, the End Cervical Cancer Nigeria Initiative (ECCNI) was established to coordinate Nigeria’s efforts ECCNI’s Executive Director, Dr. Ishak Lawal, emphasised the importance of collaboration among stakeholders to accelerate progress despite limited resources.

The Stakeholders’ Summit on Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria (SSCCEN) was conceived to foster collaboration and develop frameworks to track and scale cervical cancer elimination efforts. The second summit, scheduled for December 5–6, 2024, in Abuja, will focus on scaling up best practices and tracking progress toward national targets.

To motivate and honuor excellence, the CCESA will recognise individuals and organisations making significant strides in cervical cancer prevention and control.

The inaugural awards, to be presented during the summit’s opening ceremony, will honour Dr. Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu as Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Ambassador. Dr. Ramatu Hassan for developing Nigeria’s first strategic plan for cervical cancer prevention (2016–2020), Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe and Hon. Yusuf Tanko Sununu for their leadership in launching the Cancer Health Fund. Dr. Faisal Shuaib for introducing the HPV vaccine into Nigeria’s Expanded Program on Immunisation.

Others include Alhaji Mohammed Alkali for supporting the establishment of the North-East Collaboration for Cervical Cancer Elimination, UNICEF Nigeria for their role in organising Nigeria’s first standalone stakeholders’ summit on cervical cancer elimination.
Future of CCESA.

Subsequent editions of CCESA will recognise top-performing states, local governments, and NGOs using a virtual dashboard that tracks progress against key performance indicators (KPIs).

The awards aim to promote transparency, innovation, and collaboration, with nominations reviewed by a committee of experts.