An interactive map will be officially launched Monday, March 4th, on the International HPV Awareness Day, to visualize the increasing mortality rate related to cervical cancer in the MENA region, said Global Health Strategies in a communiqué sent Wednesday to Yabiladi. Data compiled by the International Agency for Research on Cancer show that by 2018, more than 7,600 women in the MENA region have died because of cervical cancer caused by HPV. Projections show that without strengthening preventive measures, the number of deaths in the MENA region will reach nearly 16,000 per year by 2040, the same source added. Created by the Tunisian Center for Public Health, this map is meant to «mobilize civil society and politicians in the region to implement preventive measures against these diseases». Global Health Strategies said the map was presented at a high-level meeting on HPV and cervical cancer prevention in Sharjah, UAE, on January 31, 2019. For the record, HPV stands for human papillomavirus, which can lead to cancer and genital warts.
