Voices

Erick Mahatara: One of the Most Preventable Yet Deadly Diseases Affecting Women

Erick Mahatara/loop.frontiersin.org

Sep 9, 2025, 09:29

Erick Mahatara: One of the Most Preventable Yet Deadly Diseases Affecting Women

Erick Mahatara, Ambassador and Scholar at Cancer Fight Tanzania, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Cervical cancer remains one of the most preventable yet deadly diseases affecting women, especially in low and middle income countries. While diagnosis and treatment are important, the greatest impact lies in prevention and early detection.

The introduction of HPV vaccination now proven effective even with a single dose is a game changer, particularly for countries struggling with vaccine supply and delivery. Coupled with HPV DNA testing as the primary screening tool, including self sampling approaches, we now have scalable, costeffective solutions to identify and treat precancerous lesions early.

Yet, implementation gaps and inequities persist: low vaccination coverage, limited access to HPV testing, weak referral systems, and shortages in radiotherapy and pathology services continue to cost lives. Bridging these gaps requires investment in school based vaccination, expanding self sampling and same day treatment programs, and aligning national plans with the WHO’s 90-70-90 elimination strategy.

Key takeaways for practice and policy

1. Vaccinate early, at scale, prioritize school-based and catch-up campaigns.

2. Make HPV testing the default , expand access through self collection and screen triage treat models.

3. Protect the treatment pathway, ensure access to colposcopy, LEEP, and timely chemoradiation.

4. Track the targets, measure progress against the WHO 90-70-90 elimination framework.”

Erick Mahatara: One of the Most Preventable Yet Deadly Diseases Affecting Women