Why Gavi's replenishment is critical to the fight against cancer
I come from Nigeria, a lower-middle-income nation of 230 million people. As a cancer advocate, I witness daily how it devastates families, not because we lack the knowledge to prevent many cancers, but because we lack the resources and political will to scale lifesaving preventive measures like the HPV and hepatitis B vaccines.
It is staggering that approximately 13 percent of global cancers are caused by infectious diseases that are vaccine-preventable. Yet there is a huge difference in how countries are able to access such vaccines.
Thus, when we provide HPV and hepatitis B vaccines to countries that otherwise would be unable to access them, we are not only making a highly effective health intervention, we are also making an equity intervention. The HPV vaccine protects future women from a leading cause of cancer death in women in many low- and middle-income countries — cervical cancer. Meanwhile, cases of liver cancer have been reduced by up to 91 percent in some studies of vaccinated populations. Clearly, vaccines reduce future cancer care costs, free up health systems and keep mothers alive for their children. The ripple effects are profound — for health, for economies and for the dignity of communities.
Clearly, vaccines reduce future cancer care costs, free up health systems and keep mothers alive for their children
Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu
If these benefits are profound, perhaps what is more so is the fact that prevention in the form of vaccines creates a unique opportunity for health systems in low- and middle-income countries to move from perpetual crisis management to a cost-effective and sustainable pathway that strengthens primary healthcare, builds trust in institutions and delivers intergenerational dividends for decades to come.
This is why the upcoming replenishment of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is an urgent opportunity to fund solutions that are backed by science, proven in implementation and catalytic in impact. It is a chance to protect millions of children and families from cancers they should never have to face.
As a public-private collaboration, Gavi has supported the vaccination of more than 1 billion children since 2000 and today ensures that over half the world's children are protected against deadly but preventable diseases. Through this work, it has prevented more than 17.3 million deaths and helped bring about a 50 percent reduction of child mortality in 78 lower-income countries.
Thanks to advances in science and sustained efforts to grow the supply of affordable, safe and effective vaccines, Gavi has recently begun scaling up efforts to tackle the scourge of cervical cancer. In Nigeria alone, there are more than 60 million women and girls at risk from this dreadful disease. With support from Gavi, 13.6 million girls have been vaccinated against HPV in the last two years, thereby fulfilling one of the pillars of the cervical cancer elimination goals and giving a chance of life without fear of this dreadful yet preventable disease.
HPV vaccine delivery is now routinely available to girls aged nine to 14 at primary healthcare centers and Gavi is on track to have vaccinated 85 million girls worldwide by the end of the year. Without support, we will revert to zero. It is worth noting that, prior to this, only 6 million girls had been vaccinated in the entire African continent.
We have come a long way in our fight against cancer, but there is much to do. We must fund Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu
The countries eligible for support from Gavi that have introduced the hepatitis B birth dose vaccination program are showing remarkable reduction in hepatitis B infection rates. These include Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and even China, which was an early recipient of Gavi support. This will consequently translate into a reduction in liver cancer cases.
My role as president-elect of the Union for International Cancer Control, an organization representing more than 1,200 cancer institutions across 176 countries, commits me to working alongside Gavi and other partners to ensure that vaccines are embedded in national cancer control plans and delivered with the urgency they deserve. We have come a long way already, but there is so much more work to do and we need sustainability. We need visionaries and we need investors.
In under two weeks' time, Gavi will ask its stakeholders — a coalition of wealthier donor countries, including Saudi Arabia — countries that receive Gavi's support, which are themselves stepping up more and more each year to fund their own immunization programs, and private sector and philanthropic institutions to provide the funding it needs for its next five-year strategy period.
An investment in Gavi today is not charity — it is leadership. It is foresight. And it is one of the smartest, most scalable investments anyone can make in global cancer prevention. I urge all Gavi's traditional and new backers to step up and support its mission, to protect the world's most vulnerable and to help countries as they themselves strive to build sustainable, self-sufficient health systems. This includes Saudi Arabia, which in recent years has stepped up to demonstrate true global leadership. In 2020, it became the first country in the world to back Gavi's COVAX program for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. More recently, it has backed efforts to eradicate polio off the face of the Earth.
Let us match the strength of our science with the strength of our commitments, because behind every dose of vaccine is a life protected, a future restored and a generation empowered.
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Arab News
10 hours ago
- Arab News
How Sudan became the world's worst and most neglected humanitarian disaster
DUBAI: Sudan is now ground zero for the world's largest — and most overlooked — humanitarian catastrophe. Since fighting broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, more than 12 million people have been forcibly displaced, including 4 million forced to flee across borders, according to Refugees International. The vast majority are women and children, many of whom have been displaced multiple times, arriving at informal settlements with nothing but the clothes on their backs — and receiving little to no aid or protection. 'This is the largest displacement and humanitarian crisis in the world,' Daniel P. Sullivan, director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East at Refugees International, told Arab News. 'More than half the population is facing severe food insecurity, with several areas already experiencing famine.' Amid this deepening humanitarian disaster, Sudan is also edging toward political fragmentation. The paramilitary RSF has declared a rival administration called the 'Government of Peace and Unity' across Darfur and parts of Kordofan. Meanwhile, the SAF has retaken Khartoum and retains control over the eastern and central regions. Experts warn that this emerging divide could either lead to a protracted power struggle similar to Libya's fragmentation or result in a formal split, echoing South Sudan's independence. Inside Sudan, the situation is rapidly deteriorating. The country's health system has collapsed, water sources are polluted and aid access is severely restricted. Cholera is spreading and children are dying of hunger in besieged areas. Aid groups have accused the RSF and SAF of weaponizing food and medicine, with both sides reportedly obstructing relief efforts and manipulating access to humanitarian corridors. In East Darfur's Lagawa camp, at least 13 children have died due to complications associated with malnutrition. The site is home to more than 7,000 displaced people, the majority of them women and children, who are grappling with acute food insecurity. The UN children's fund, UNICEF, reported a 46 percent increase in cases of severe child malnutrition across Darfur between January and May, with more than 40,000 children receiving treatment in North Darfur alone. Several areas, including parts of Darfur and Kordofan, are now officially experiencing famine. With ethnic tensions fueling a separate but parallel conflict, allegations of genocide are mounting once more in Darfur. 'Sudanese in Darfur face genocide,' said Sullivan. 'And those in other parts of the country face other atrocity crimes including targeting of civilians and widespread sexual violence.' Elena Habersky, a researcher and consultant working with Sudanese refugee-led organizations in Egypt, told Arab News the violence is not just wide-reaching but also intimate in its brutality. 'There is widespread cholera and famine within Sudan and the threat of the RSF burning villages, sexually abusing and raping civilians, and killing people by shooting them, burning them or burying them alive, is very much a reality,' she said. The RSF has routinely denied targeting civilians and accused its rivals of orchestrating a media campaign, using actors and staged scenes, to falsely incriminate it. Those who flee across borders face a new set of challenges. Sudanese refugees in Egypt often struggle to obtain residency, work permits or access to health care and education. In Chad and South Sudan, refugee camps are severely overcrowded, and food shortages are worsening due to global funding cuts. In Libya and the Central African Republic, they are at the mercy of smuggling networks and armed groups. 'Sudanese in Egypt face discrimination and the risk of forced repatriation,' said Sullivan. 'Others in Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan face their own risks of abuse and lack of support.' All the while, international attention is limited. The few headlines that break through are usually buried beneath coverage of other global crises. Despite the scale of the catastrophe, donor fatigue, budget cuts and political disinterest have left Sudanese aid groups carrying the bulk of the humanitarian response. 'It truly feels like the international community is basically non-existent or only existent in words,' said Habersky. 'Most of the work I see being done is by refugee-led organizations, grassroots efforts by the diaspora, and community aid kitchens inside Sudan,' she said. Groups such as the Emergency Response Rooms — local networks of doctors, teachers and volunteers — have been on the front lines. But they lack consistent funding and are increasingly targeted by both warring factions. 'Local Sudanese groups have become targets of abuse,' said Sullivan. 'The most critical funding gap is in the amount of support going directly to them.' Aid efforts are not only underfunded, but actively blocked. In areas such as Khartoum, humanitarian deliveries are hampered by bureaucratic hurdles and security threats. 'Even if aid enters Khartoum, it then faces other blocks to go to Darfur,' said Habersky. 'There's destruction of infrastructure, political infighting and looting.' • 12m People forcibly displaced by the conflict in Sudan since April 15, 2023. • 4m Forced to flee across borders to states such as Egypt, Chad and South Sudan. Source: Refugees International In February, UN officials launched a $6 billion funding appeal for Sudan — a more than 40 percent increase from the previous year — citing what they described as the world's worst hunger crisis and displacement emergency. The call for aid comes as global humanitarian budgets are under immense pressure, further strained by a recent US funding freeze that has disrupted life-saving programs worldwide. Earlier this year, Tom Fletcher, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, urged donors to answer the appeal on behalf of nearly 21 million Sudanese in need, while describing Sudan as 'a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions.' 'We are witnessing famine, sexual violence and the collapse of basic services on a massive scale — and we need urgent, coordinated action to stop it.' While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to continue operations in Sudan, uncertainty remains around how far those exemptions extend — particularly when it comes to famine relief. The UN's 2025 humanitarian response plan is the largest and most ambitious proposed this year. Of the $6 billion requested, $4.2 billion is allocated for in-country operations, with the rest earmarked for those displaced across borders. However, the window for action is closing, with the rainy season underway and famine spreading. Experts warn that unless humanitarian access is restored and the conflict de-escalates, Sudan could spiral into a catastrophe on a par with — or worse than — Rwanda, Syria or Yemen. 'There needs to be a surge in humanitarian assistance to areas of greatest need,' said Sullivan. 'Diplomatic pressure must also be mobilized to urge external actors to stop enabling atrocities and to press for humanitarian access.' Sullivan believes that failure to act now could result in hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths. Meanwhile, Habersky stressed the urgency of the situation, adding that 'non-earmarked funding must be given to all organizations working to better the situation within Sudan and the region.' 'Refugee rights in host countries must be protected — we are seeing too many cases of abuse and neglect,' she added. The stark reality is that while global attention drifts elsewhere, Sudan continues to collapse in real time. Behind the statistics are millions of lives — waiting for aid that has yet to arrive.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Arab News
WHO says training 49,000 health workers for Pakistan's first HPV vaccination drive in September
KARACHI: The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday it is partnering with the Pakistani government to train 49,000 health workers for the country's first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination drive from Sept. 15-27, highlighting that it would target 13 million girls and help protect them from cervical cancer. HPV is a very common virus that can cause cancers later in life, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). About 13 million people, including teens, become infected with HPV each year. Medical experts recommend protecting children from these cancers through the HPV vaccine. In its press release, the WHO said cervical cancer ranks as the third most frequent cancer among Pakistani women. It said the country has a female population of 73.8 million aged 15 years and older at risk of the virus and reports 5,000 new cases of cervical cancer in women annually. The global health body said almost 3,200 of these 5,000 cases, roughly 64 percent, die from the disease. 'The campaign will be a historic milestone to prevent cervical cancer in the country, targeting for the first time 13 million girls aged 9 to 14 years across Punjab, Sindh, Islamabad Capital Territory and Pakistan-administered Kashmir,' the statement said. The WHO said that with funding support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the training sessions for health workers will be conducted until the end of August and would focus on microplanning and essential skills for vaccinators, doctors, social mobilizers and data entry operators. It said WHO's support for the drive includes technical guidance for conceptualization, planning, data analysis, readiness assessments and capacity development in close collaboration with partners, the Pakistan Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI) and its Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) at the federal and provincial levels. 'This HPV vaccination campaign is more than just a public health intervention; it is an investment in the health and potential of our daughters,' Dr. Soofia Yunus, director-general, FDI, said. 'By embracing this vaccine, Pakistan is taking a big step to protect its future from cervical cancer.' It said the vaccination campaign aligns with the World Health Assembly's Global Strategy for cervical cancer elimination. The strategy aims that by 2030, 90 percent of girls are fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by 15 years of age, 70 percent of women are screened, and 90 percent of women with pre-cancer or invasive cancer receive treatment. The global health body said Pakistan's mortality rate for cervical cancer can primarily be attributed to delayed diagnoses and limited access to screening programs. The WHO said a recent study it conducted across 18 health care facilities in Pakistan from 2021-2023, 1,580 cases of cervical cancer were documented, indicating a significant underestimation of the disease burden due to low screening rates and the lack of a national cervical cancer registry. 'Modelling data indicates that, in the absence of vaccination, the cervical cancer disease burden in Pakistan will increase markedly by at least three-fold over the next seven decades,' the statement said. WHO said the HPV vaccine's phased introduction will pave the way for its eventual rollout in other Pakistani provinces and areas, such as the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2026, and Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan in 2027.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Arab News
Mental health clinics in violence-prone South Sudan are rare and endangered
MUNDRI: Joy Falatiya said her husband kicked her and five children out of their home in March 2024 and that she fell apart after that. Homeless and penniless, the 35-year-old South Sudanese mother said she thought of ending her life. 'I wanted to take my children and jump in the river,' she said while cradling a baby outside a room with cracked mud walls where she now stays. But she's made a remarkable recovery months later, thanks to the support of well-wishers and a mental health clinic nearby where she's received counseling since April. She told The Associated Press that her suicidal thoughts are now gone after months of psycho-social therapy, even though she still struggles to feed her children and can't afford to keep them in school. The specialized clinic in her hometown of Mundri, in South Sudan' s Western Equatoria state, is a rare and endangered facility in a country desperate for more such services. Now that the program's funding from Italian and Greek sources is about to end and its future is unclear. The clinic is in one of eight locations chosen for a project that aimed to provide mental health services for the first time to over 20,000 people across this East African country. Launched in late 2022, it proved a lifeline for patients like Falatiya in a country where mental health services are almost non-existent in the government-run health system. Implemented by a group of charities led by Amref Health Africa, the program has partnered with government health centers, Catholic parishes, local radio stations. Across South Sudan, there has been massive displacement of people in the civil war that began in 2013 when government troops loyal to President Salva Kiir fought those loyal to Vice President Riek Machar. The eruption of fighting was a major setback for the world's newest country, which became a major refugee-producing nation just over two years after independence from Sudan. Although a peace deal was reached in 2018, the resumption of hostilities since January led the UN to warn of a possible 'relapse into large scale conflict.' The violence persists even today, with Machar under house arrest and government forces continuing with a campaign to weaken his ability to wage war. And poverty — over 90 percent of the country's people live on less than $2.15 per day, according to the World Bank — is rampant in many areas, adding to the mental health pressures many people face, according to experts. In a country heavily dependent on charity to keep the health sector running, access to mental health services lags far behind. The country has the fourth-highest suicide rate in Africa and is ranked thirteenth globally, World Health Organization figures show. In South Sudan, suicide affects mostly the internally displaced, fueled by confinement and pressures related to poverty, idleness, armed conflict, and gender-based violence, according to the International Organization for Migration. 'Mental health issues are a huge obstacle to the development of South Sudan,' said Jacopo Rovarini, an official with Amref Health Africa. More than a third of those screened by the Amref project 'show signs of either psychological distress or mental health disorders,' he said. 'So the burden for the individuals, their families and their communities is huge in this country, and it has gone quite unaddressed so far.' Last month, authorities in Juba raised an alarm after 12 cases of suicide were reported in just a week in the South Sudan capital. There were no more details on those cases. Dr. Atong Ayuel Longar, one of South Sudan's very few psychiatrists and the leader of the mental health department at the health ministry, said a pervasive sense of 'uncertainty is what affects the population the most' amid the constant threat of war. 'Because you can't plan for tomorrow,' she said. 'Do we need to evacuate? People will be like, 'No, no, no, there's no war.' Yet you don't feel that sense of peace around you. Things are getting tough.' In Mundri, the AP visited several mental health facilities in June and spoke to many patients, including women who have recently lost relatives in South Sudan's conflict. In 2015, the Mundri area was ravaged by fighting between opposition forces and government troops, leading to widespread displacement, looting and sexual violence. Ten years later, many have not recovered from this episode and fear similar fighting could resume there. 'There are many mad people in the villages,' said Paul Monday, a local youth leader, using a common derogatory word for those who are mentally unwell. 'It's so common because we lost a lot of things during the war. We had to flee and our properties were looted.' 'In our community here, when you're mad you're abandoned,' Monday said. As one of the charities seeking to expand mental health services, the Catholic non-governmental organization Caritas organizes sessions of Self Help Plus, a group-based stress management course launched by WHO in 2021. Attended mostly by women, sessions offer simple exercises they can repeat at home to reduce stress. Longar, the psychiatrist, said she believes the community must be equipped with tools 'to heal and to help themselves by themselves, and break the cycle of trauma.' But she worries about whether such support can be kept sustainable as funds continue to dwindle, reflecting the retreat by the United States from its once-generous foreign aid program. The project that may have helped save Falatiya's life, funded until November by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and the Athens-based Stavros Niarchos Foundation, will come to an end without additional donor funding. Specialized mental health services provided at health centers such as the Mundri clinic may collapse. 'What happened to me in the past was very dangerous, but the thought of bad things can be removed,' Falatiya said, surveying a garden she cultivates outside her small home where a local man has allowed her to stay after taking pity on her. She said that she hopes the clinic will still be around if and when her 'bad thoughts' return.
