Kenya is currently ranked in the top 20 countries with the highest rates of cervical cancer in women of reproductive age. The country also has the highest number of cancer-related deaths across East Africa, with cervical cancer accounting for 3,250 deaths annually. As is the case in many low- and middle-income countries, most women are diagnosed in very advanced stages of the disease, when treatment options are limited, and it is very costly to treat. As a result, women in Kenya are 14 times more likely to die from cervical cancer than women in the United States.
In Kenya, cervical cancer Is the leading cause of cancer related deaths in Kenya and the 2nd most common cancer among women. (GLOBOCAN, 2018). It Contributes 5,250 (12.9%) of the new cancer cases annually and 3,286 (11.84%) of all cancer deaths annually.
Every day, nine Kenyan women die from cervical cancer, these are our mothers, our daughters, our sisters, our colleagues and our friends. Yet, cervical cancer is both preventable and treatable when detected early.
Cervical cancer screening rates among eligible women between the ages of 15 and 65 remains low, according to the Kenya Stepwise survey for NCDs Risk Factors 2015 report (KNBS,2015), only 16.4% of women aged 30 – 49 years had ever been screened for cervical cancer. Only 3.2% of women are screened every three years. This means that 85% of eligible women have never received cervical cancer screening in Kenya. Overall, levels of knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer are low. At the same time, screening is not routinely offered to women of reproductive age, and when offered the cost is often prohibitive.
In Eastern Africa, cervical cancer remains the most common cancer in women with estimated age standardized incidence and mortality rates of 40.1 and 30.0 per 100,000 respectively (GLOBOCAN, 2018).
