DUALE: Our plan to end cervical cancer: Prevention, early detection and treatment

Cervical cancer is a silent killer, the second most common cancer among Kenyan women, surpassed only by breast cancer.

Each year, approximately 7,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, claiming more than 3,000 lives. Cervical cancer follows closely, with nearly 6,000 new cases annually and over 3,500 deaths every year.

These statistics represent widowed husbands, orphaned children, fractured families and diminished communities.

What makes this tragedy especially unacceptable is that these deaths are largely preventable. Unlike many other cancers, cervical cancer is a disease we can stop, decisively and permanently, if we act with clarity, resolve and collective purpose.

As Kenya joins the global community in marking Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, we are compelled not merely to observe, but to act. This moment demands urgency. It demands leadership. Above all, it demands results.

That is why this year, the government is launching a bold and coordinated national response through the Kenya National Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan (2026–2030) – a clear, costed roadmap designed not simply to manage this disease, but to eliminate it altogether.

Kenya’s plan is anchored in a globally validated three-pronged strategy that addresses the full continuum of care: from prevention, early detection and treatment.

First, prevention. The most powerful tool in our arsenal is HPV vaccination. The Human Papillomavirus causes the vast majority of cervical cancers, and vaccination prevents infection before disease ever develops.

In November 2025, Kenya made a strategic, evidence-based transition from a two-dose to a single-dose HPV vaccination schedule. This shift enables us to reach more girls, reduce missed opportunities and accelerate national coverage. The HPV vaccine is offered free of charge to all girls aged 10–14 years at public health facilities across the country.

Despite misinformation circulating in some quarters, the facts are clear: the HPV vaccine is safe, effective and rigorously tested. It has already protected millions of women worldwide. Elimination begins with prevention, and we must ensure that no eligible girl is left unprotected.

Second, early detection. Screening saves lives. Kenya has made measurable progress, with screening rates among women aged 25–49 rising from 11 per cent in 2018 to 42 per cent in 2024.

However, this remains far below our national and global targets. To close this gap, the government is strengthening primary healthcare services in all 47 counties, ensuring that screening is accessible at the community level.

We are also transitioning to HPV DNA testing, the gold standard for early detection, while deploying innovative approaches such as self-sampling and digital health platforms to reach women who have historically been left behind. Our unwavering commitment is that every woman should be screened by age 35 and again by age 45, regardless of location or income.

Third, treatment and care. It remains a national tragedy that some women who receive a positive diagnosis are still unable to access or complete lifesaving treatment. Under the leadership of President William Ruto, the government is committed to ensuring that at least 90 per cent of women diagnosed with cervical disease receive prompt, appropriate and complete treatment. Achieving this requires seamless referral pathways, robust patient navigation systems and consistent follow-up so that no woman is lost between diagnosis and recovery.

Delivering on this promise means strengthening the backbone of our health system. The government is making significant investments in cancer treatment infrastructure nationwide while building specialised human resource capacity.

National referral hospitals are being upgraded, new treatment centres are being established and training programmes are being expanded to increase the number of oncologists, pathologists, radiotherapists and oncology nurses. Tertiary cancer care must never be a luxury; it is a right. Timely, affordable and uninterrupted care is non-negotiable.

Equally critical is financial protection. Through the Social Health Authority, which has now enrolled 28.7 million Kenyans, we are ensuring that cost does not stand between a woman and her chance to survive. Facilities are reimbursed directly, keeping resources where they are needed most and preventing families from being pushed into poverty while seeking care.

Nonetheless, eliminating cervical cancer is not the responsibility of the health sector alone. It requires a whole-of-nation approach.

The Ministry of Education shall integrate HPV vaccination into school health programmes, ensuring that girls are reached early and consistently.

County governments and the Council of Governors are expected to mobilise resources, coordinate action and ensure full implementation of the elimination plan in every subcounty.

Civil society organisations, cancer survivors and community leaders play an indispensable role in building trust, confronting stigma and encouraging women to seek care early.

We commit to this course because we must be the generation that ends cervical cancer in Kenya. Let us leave no girl unvaccinated, no woman unscreened and no patient untreated.

By protecting our women, we strengthen our families, safeguard our communities and uphold the dignity of our nation. Together, we can, and we will, eliminate cervical cancer from Kenya.

Cabinet Secretary for Health