New Delhi: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued a stark warning on the first-ever World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day , urging South-East Asian countries to accelerate action as the region continues to shoulder nearly one-fourth of the global cervical cancer burden.

According to WHO, 160,000 new cases and 100,000 deaths were recorded in the region in 2022, despite cervical cancer being one of the most preventable and treatable cancers.

Dr. Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge, WHO South-East Asia , said the disease continues to claim a woman’s life every two minutes globally and stressed the need for urgent action to meet WHO’s 2030 elimination targets, 90 per cent HPV vaccination among girls by age 15, high-performance screening for 70% of women at 35 and 45, and

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