Cervical cancer is the number one cancer killer of women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with roughly 100,000 women diagnosed annually; of these women, about 62% will die from the disease.
Women living with HIV are up to five times more likely to develop persistent precancerous lesions and progress to cervical cancer, often with more aggressive form and higher mortality.
Launched in May 2018 to address this challenge, Go Further is an innovative public-private partnership between the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the George W. Bush Institute, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Merck, and Roche. The partnership collaborates closely with governments to strategize on ways to provide services for women from prevention through the cancer journey. Go Further began working in eight countries (Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe), and will expand services to four additional countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) in fiscal year (FY) 2021. The objectives are to screen all WLHIV on ART between the ages of 25 and 49 for cervical cancer, and to treat pre-invasive cervical cancer lesions to prevent progression to cervical cancer.
