By: Alana Cameron (Results Fellow)
Women’s health continues to lack the spotlight it so urgently needs. Many of women’s health issues tragically get missed in research and education worldwide is lacking. January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. This month is a time to reflect on this terrible illness that remains the fourth most common cancer death of women all over the world. And even more telling is that the far majority of deaths (90%) occur in low and middle income countries. This is an extra tragedy because it is largely preventable. If the HPV vaccine, which is used to control the HPV virus- the leading cause of cervical cancer, was better distributed, the death rate would drop significantly. We as a community have the chance to make this better. If we pushed Canada to invest in Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, its predicted that 1.5 million deaths would be prevented over the next five years from their work in distributing the HPV vaccine.
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