HSE launches Cervical Cancer Elimination action plan as latest figures show Ireland is on track to reach historic goal by 2040

The HSE has today launched the Cervical Cancer Elimination Action Plan 2025-2030, which sets out the steps we will take to make cervical cancer rare in every community.

Ireland publicly committed to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global initiative to eliminate cervical cancer in January 2023 – one of the first countries in the world to do so. The HSE’s national action plan ensures we will remain on track to achieve elimination by Ireland’s target date of 2040.

The plan recognises milestones reached so far, highlights the challenges ahead and sets out the work we will do in the HSE and with our partners, to make cervical cancer rare in every community. Elimination of cervical cancer does not mean zero cases of cervical cancer; we are aiming to reach the WHO target for elimination of 4 cases per 100,000 women by 2040.

Eliminating cervical cancer will be achieved through the joint effort of the HSE’s vaccination, cervical screening and treatment services, in partnership with communities.

Dr Colm Henry, HSE Chief Clinical Officer, said:

“Today I can announce that Ireland’s rate of cervical cancer is continuing to drop. According to our most recent data, for the year 2022, we are at 10.1 cases per 100,000*; a drop from 15.8 in 2008.

“For most people, cervical cancer is preventable. We know it is caused by HPV in over 90% of cases. We have the tools in HPV vaccination and cervical screening to prevent it. The falling level of cervical cancer in Ireland demonstrates the impact of the HSE’s CervicalCheck programme since it began in 2008 and, more recently, the HPV vaccination programme as vaccinated people continue to reach adulthood.

“The success of our plan in achieving our shared vision of making cervical cancer rare in every community depends on building greater integration across the HSE. This will mean our services are more patient-centred by making them more joined up and easier to navigate. Changes to health service structures under the new HSE Health Regions offer us more opportunities to integrate than ever, and we are committed to working together to connect, develop shared solutions, and deliver this plan in collaboration with our communities. Success will mean we make history, by making a cancer rare in every community.”

Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health, Professor Mary Horgan said:

“We know that vaccination is one of our most powerful tools for protecting our health and making cervical cancer a rare disease.  We are fortunate to have a gender-inclusive vaccination programme in schools and we must continue to encourage high uptake of the HPV vaccine to protect people from infection. We can all play our part, and participating in vaccination programmes and cervical screening will ensure we can eliminate this devastating disease for future generations.”

Dr Caroline Mason-Mohan, Director of Public Health, HSE National Screening Service and Cervical Cancer Elimination partnership lead, said:

“It is encouraging to see the rate of cervical cancer fall as women in Ireland benefit from HPV vaccination, cervical screening and more treatment options. In 2020, Ireland was among one of the first countries to switch to primary HPV cervical screening which brought us closer to elimination by 3 years.

“We know these benefits are not felt equally. While we have good uptake of screening - over 70% of eligible women attend - nearly half of all cervical cancers occur in the 20-30% of people who haven’t been screened at all or haven’t had regular screening, so they miss the chance of preventing cancer. It’s important that our vision and our plan is founded on equity.

“Our action plan recognises that we will only achieve elimination when everyone can benefit from access to vaccination, screening and treatment.

“The success of this plan is in all our hands. It is the people in our communities who will ultimately choose whether to have their children vaccinated, to come for screening and to have treatment if needed, or to support someone else in making these choices. Each of these individual actions brings us closer to our vision.”

Dr Salome Mbugua, Chief Executive Officer, AkiDwA a national network representing migrant women in Ireland said:

“We thank the HSE for including AkiDwA in the development of this action plan. Migrant women often face unique barriers to healthcare. Increasing both vaccination and screening rates in migrant communities is essential. But we know that financial, logistical, and informational barriers can prevent this.

“A culturally sensitive approach is crucial for building trust. This means involving migrant communities in the design and delivery of health services, addressing their unique needs and values. Cervical cancer elimination is within reach, but only if all women, including migrant women, have equal access to prevention services, such as screening and vaccination, and early treatment when diagnosed.”