Cervical Cancer Elimination in Australia and the Asia Pacific: Progress and Barriers

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Connor

Australia has been at the forefront of cervical cancer control, with projections to eliminate the disease by 2035 through active prevention and control measures. Early universal HPV vaccination and timely transition to primary HPV-based screening underpin this progress. Persistent inequities in coverage for underserved groups, and recent declines in vaccination and screening uptake, threaten timely elimination. Targeted actions, stronger data linkages, provider-led catch-up and screening, and equitable self-collection service models are needed to close participation gaps. Australia also supports Indo-Pacific regional frameworks and initiatives to accelerate global elimination.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages9

Reading Time23 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

The Global Strategy to Accelerate Cervical Cancer Elimination

Progress and Barriers in Australia and the Asia Pacific

Role of Primary Health Providers and Data Linkages

Service Delivery Models Including HPV Self-Collection

Global and Regional Partnerships for Elimination

Medical Journal of Australia NARRATIVE REVIEW OPEN ACCESS Cervical Cancer Elimination in Australia and the Asia Pacific: Progress and Barriers Susan Yuill1 | Carol Naidu1 | Megan Smith1 | Deborah Bateson2 | Marion Saville3,4 | Boniface Damutalau5 | Karen Canfell1 1Cancer Elimination Collaboration, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 2University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 3University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 4Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 5Vila Central Hospital Ministry of Health, Vila, Vanuatu Correspondence: Karen Canfell ([karen.canfell@sydney.edu.au](karen.canfell@sydney.edu.au)) Received: 11 August 2025 | Revised: 27 January 2026 | Accepted: 29 January 2026 Keywords: early detection of cancer | uterine cervical neoplasms | vaccination ABSTRACT Australia has been at the forefront of innovation and implementation of cervical cancer control and is predicted to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035, the first country to achieve elimination using active measures. This is a result of Australia being an early adopter of universal human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and early transition to a primary HPV-based cervical screening program. However, to ensure timely and equitable elimination, disparities in coverage among underserved populations must be addressed, and recent declines in vaccination and screening uptake must be reversed. Improved routine data linkages are required to ensure gaps in participation in subpopulations can be identified. Primary health providers have an important role in checking vaccination and screening status and offering vaccination catch-up or screening as appropriate. A universal option of self-collection of an HPV sample for all screen-eligible people has increased acceptability overall, but further innovative and flexible models of service delivery are required to ensure equitable access for all. Australia has also played an important role in cervical cancer control globally and was a co-sponsor of the 2020 World Health Assembly resolution to accelerate the global elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem. In the Indo-Pacific region, regional frameworks have been developed to advance strategic actions to progress implementation of the global strategy. The Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer (EPICC), a major initiative supported by the Australian Government and the Minderoo Foundation, provides tailored support to countries, considering local needs and priorities. JEL Classification: Neoplasms, Infectious diseases 1 | Introduction Australia has been at the forefront of innovation and implementation of cervical cancer control and was a co-sponsor of the 2020 World Health Assembly resolution to accelerate the global elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem. As one of the first countries to introduce national vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) and to transition from a cytology-based to HPV-based cervical screening program, Australia is on track to be the first country to eliminate cervical cancer via active deployment of prevention and control interventions [1, 2] . Australia has also been instrumental in supporting countries in the Indo-Pacific region to develop and amplify cervical cancer elimination efforts. In this narrative review, we discuss Australia's progress towards achieving elimination, and doing so equitably, within the predicted 2035 timeframe, and provide an overview of Australia's role in supporting elimination in the region. This review summarises relevant peer-reviewed articles, sourced through literature searches informed by the authors' expertise and knowledge, This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is prope

FAQs

Why is Australia predicted to eliminate cervical cancer by 2035?

Australia’s early universal HPV vaccination and early transition to a primary HPV-based cervical screening program underpin progress toward elimination within the predicted timeframe.

What main barriers could delay timely and equitable elimination?

Disparities in coverage among underserved populations and recent declines in vaccination and screening uptake must be addressed, alongside improved routine data linkages to detect gaps in participation.

How can self-collection of HPV samples support elimination efforts?

A universal option for self-collection has increased overall acceptability, but further flexible and innovative service delivery models are needed to ensure equitable access for all.

Sep 22, 2026

Uploaded by Connor