BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM For the first time in history, a country is on the verge of eliminating a form of cancer entirely. Australia is on track to reach that milestone by 2035, and possibly sooner, through a combination of widespread HPV vaccination and a screening system that has been rebuilt from scratch. “It’s the first time that the WHO, and globally, we’ve said we’re going to eliminate a cancer,” said Professor Karen Canfell, an epidemiologist whose modeling helped chart the path to elimination with the World Health Organization. “That’s actually a new concept for cancer.” How the program came together In 2006, scientists at the University of Queensland developed Gardasil, a vaccine designed to prevent HPV infection. Since HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer, the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, the vaccine was immediately significant. Australia became the first country to launch a national vaccination program the following year. The program has expanded considerably since then. In 2013, it was extended to include boys, who can carry and transmit HPV without developing cervical cancer themselves. In 2017, Australia was among the first nations to replace the traditional pap smear with a more sensitive HPV-based cervical screening test, required only every five years. More recently, it became one of the first to offer women the option of collecting their own sample, removing a barrier for those who find pelvic exams difficult or whose access to healthcare is limited by time or geography. The combined effect has been dramatic. Since records began in 1982, both incidence and mortality rates for cervical cancer in Australia have halved. The most recent data, from 2021, showed something that had never happened before: for the first time, there were no cervical cancer cases diagnosed in women under the age of 25. “It’s not all women of all ages yet, but you can see that concept of elimination being realised,” Canfell said. Australia currently has about 6.3 new cases per 100,000 women. The WHO defines elimination as fewer than four cases per 100,000, which means the country is not there yet, but the trajectory has assessors who are confident the target is within reach. Vaccination among girls under 15 sits just above 80 percent, and 85 percent of women in the most critical screening age group have been tested. The gaps that remain Progress has been uneven. Cervical cancer rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are twice as high as the national average, and Indigenous women are more than three times as likely to die from the disease. “They’re often detected at a later stage of cancer than non-Indigenous women,” said Dr. Natalie Strobel, an epidemiologist specializing in disease prevention in Indigenous communities. On the current trajectory, elimination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women is projected to arrive 12 years later than the national 2035 target. Researchers have identified several contributing factors: higher rates of vaccine hesitancy following the COVID-19 pandemic, rising costs of medical services, and children missing school-based vaccination with no organized follow-up to ensure they catch up. A model others are following Australia’s approach has become a template. “Public health innovations in Australia sort of gave a general exemplar for WHO to follow,” Canfell said. Sweden and Rwanda have both set targets of eliminating cervical cancer by 2027, though both are trailing their key milestones. The United Kingdom has set a goal of 2040 and is working to reverse recent declines in both vaccination and screening rates. Meanwhile, cuts to international aid have complicated the picture globally. In March 2025, the US government ended its support for Gavi, an alliance that funds HPV vaccination in lower-income countries. Canfell acknowledged the gap plainly: “To say the obvious thing, we are obviously lucky to be in a high-income country where we have a form of universal healthcare and access for all.” Australia is now using public funding and philanthropy to help neighbors, including Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, pursue elimination. Whether that kind of support can survive the wider pullback in global health investment remains an open question, but the scientific foundation for what comes next is already laid. A cancer that has shaped the lives of women and families for generations is now, in at least one country, within reach of being eliminated entirely.       Did this solution stand out? Share it with a friend or support our mission by becoming an Emissary.The post Australia is on track to eliminate a form of cancer entirely first appeared on The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News.