Kenya writes a plan to end cervical cancer — 90-70-90 by 2030

In Nairobi, Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale unveiled Kenya's National Cervical Cancer Elimination Action Plan 2026–2030, a costed roadmap aligned to the WHO's global strategy: vaccinate 90% of girls against HPV, screen 70% of women, and ensure 90% of diagnosed women get timely treatment. 'Our goal is simple and urgent: no girl unvaccinated, no woman unscreened, and no patient left without treatment,' Duale said. The plan rolls out single-dose HPV vaccination, HPV DNA testing and self-sampling to boost uptake, with services reaching all 47 counties — and every HPV shot free of charge, backed by mandatory service charters and legal consequences for facilities that try to bill for them. The stakes are high: Kenya records about 5,845 new cervical cancer cases a year and roughly 3,200–3,600 deaths, and the disease is the leading cause of cancer death among Kenyan women. Now there's a plan commensurate with the science that says most of those deaths are preventable.