'Every minute a woman diagnosed with cervical cancer'

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that around 300,000 women die of cervical cancer every year.

“One woman diagnosed every minute,” said a statement released by the United Nations on late Monday night.

The WHO said that cervical cancer is one of the most preventable and curable forms of the disease.

The global health body noted most deaths due to this cancer occur in poor countries.

“Nine out of 10 women who die from cervical cancer are from poor countries,” the statement released on World Cancer Day said.

The WHO warned if the situation did not change “deaths from the disease will rise by almost 50 percent by 2040”.

“New diagnoses can be reduced by ensuring that all 9 to 14-year-old girls globally are vaccinated against human papilloma virus (HPV),” the WHO said adding that such “group of viruses” are extremely common worldwide, two types of which cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers.

It added that women in developing countries have only limited access to preventative measures, and cervical cancer is often not identified until it has reached an advanced stage.

The WHO recommended that innovative technologies and strategies, access to diagnosis and early-stage treatment of invasive cancers are the need of time to halt the spread of this fatal disease in poor countries.

The UN has launched a five-year Joint Global Program on Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control to provide global leadership and technical assistance to governments and their partners.