IGCS Podcast

In this podcast episode, Julie Torode, PhD, global cancer prevention and policy specialist and IGCS ACCESS Facilitator, is joined by Dr. Khadija Warfa, Consultant Obstetrician-Gynecologist and a Gynecologic Oncologist based at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya.They discuss the critical role clinicians can play in advancing cervical cancer elimination advocacy. While they discuss the nuances of advocacy in Africa, clinicians worldwide can take something valuable away from this discussion. Together, they explore the barriers many healthcare professionals face in engaging with policy and advocacy work — and why clinician voices are essential to shaping effective national cervical cancer elimination strategies.
Transcript
Julie:
The first quarter of the year is behind us, we have seen January - Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, February World Cancer Day, March International HPV Day and International Women’s Day all providing great platforms to take the message on cervical cancer to our communities, to our policymakers and especially to girls and women that need to know how they can prevention cervical cancer. Today we are asking, what role should clinicians themselves play in driving national advocacy across Africa?
This is Julie Torode, working with International Gynaecologic Cancer Society, speaking with Dr. Khadija Warfa a Consultant Obstetrician-Gynecologist and a Gynecologic Oncologist based at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya.
Khadjia, in the lead up to the ACCESS Africa meeting in Cape Town at the end of 2025 we conducted a survey of IGCS African members working across disciplines in the field of cervical cancer prevention and control. What stood out for me was that despite the facts that 100% of respondents were behind the call to action – wanting all high burden countries in Africa to have operational cervical cancer elimination strategies in place by 2030 – clincians did not see themselves as the catalysts or leaders of advocating for this to happen? What’s your take on that, Kadija?
Khadija:
Well, Julie as a clinician working in this continent, advocacy is not something we are trying to do. We wear multiple clinical hats that sometimes take up a lot of our time, and so many might say they do not have the time to add advocacy work on top of their clinical duties.
Well, in practical terms, clinicians are involved in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and many colleagues might see that advocacy is outside their scope of clinical work and is a responsibility. And I say, quote unquote, others, and sometimes we might push this responsibility to public health professionals or the government or NGOs.
In addition, once you're an advocate or being an advocate, it means you have to raise your voice and you have to speak about things that need to be said in the African context. This might seem to criticize the institution that you work for or the government. So many might feel uncomfortable taking up this advocacy role.
And perhaps what we do not realize is that the public and the government would appreciate our expert opinion, which would bring clarity to otherwise confusing scenarios, such as cervical cancer vaccination, what screening test should be done, or what are the signs and symptoms of the disease?
Julie:
Okay, so let's unpack that a little.
I'm picking up on two themes here. At the forefront concerns about personal and professional risks, perhaps reinforced by institutional barriers. But also, a clear training and knowledge gap. Do you agree, Khadija?
Khadija:
Yes.
Julie:
okay, so let's take them one by one in in this. From the perspective of personal professional risks, this could be a fear of a backlash being labeled as disruptive or difficult by colleagues and peers. Even superiors. But also maybe a risk to your professional credibility. Do you have an example yourself, Khadija, and how do you think your peers could reduce these risks?
Khadija:
I agree, Julie most institutions, whether public or private, have a hierarchical system. And junior colleagues who are enthusiastic and want to add their voice to the health system, such as appearing on public forum, can be labeled as being disruptive or too political. So, what can peers do? They can actually reduce this by working together using a collective voice to normalize advocacy and working through local professional bodies to engage with policy makers and packaging the message in line with data and guidelines.
And this would boost the credibility of the message and the messenger so that nobody is picked as being the disruptive, but rather. An example in Kenya would say the Kenya Society of hemato-oncology advocates for cervical cancer screening. These are the screening guidelines we recommend, and thereafter, the Ministry of Health will take it up, and then it becomes a norm for the whole community.
And as an example, I work in a private hospital that has a excellent communication team, so we're encouraged to appear on both print and broadcast media to share strong health messages with the public. So we have to write something, and it's published on the newspapers in Kenya. A lot of colleagues appear on the news, so I would encourage clinicians who work in organizations to actually approach the institution they work for and say, can they have a more proactive stance on advocacy, and this would improve messages to the community.
Julie:These are great tips, Khadija. Thank you. What'd you say to colleagues that talk about not having time for advocacy or feeling that they don't have the institutional support that you've just described?
Khadija:
So, clinicians have a lot of demands on their time, and especially in this context, if they have to have teaching commitments.
So, the WHO has recommended a patient-doctor ratio, but unfortunately in sub-Saharan Africa our ratio is 1.8 physicians, for 10,000 people. And if you add what I label as shadow work, this includes the administrative task teaching, setting and writing exams, documentation. This actually reduces the patient or clinical time that you have.
So, if you add their mental and sometimes emotional strain of this workload, I think we can appreciate that. Um, you just do not have another bandwidth to add on to Advocacy. And this might be compounded by also restrictive policies in some institutions, and this might leave colleagues feeling muzzled and unable to speak out.
My view is that I learned so much by being an advocate working with the community and also important for clinicians to recognize that improved national strategies and implementation will help us to be more impactful as clinicians. And I'm sure, none of us would want to see (or usually see) patients with advanced cervical cancer, where our skills as a surgeon are sadly, no longer able to cure.
 And the strategies that identify these disease at an early stage where clinical interventions can cure. And, well, I must say, this is worth advocating for.
Julie:
Absolutely! I would say patients, clinicians and politicians are united by that ambition Kadija. Um, the second area you touched on was the knowledge gap and training need advocacy, especially at the system or policy level leaves. Many feeling unequipped to act effectively. What do you say to those colleagues?
Khadija:
So, during the ACCESS Africa, when the survey was done, many members actually revealed that they were unaware of the strength of the clinician's voice and are also not experienced enough to know about how to go in terms of how should we engage our policy makers.
So, the IGCS is developing a two-page document, which is going to accompany this podcast as a first step to encourage clinicians to understand how they can add value. And I like the very easy 10-step format as an entry point on how to become more active, so it gives you a breakdown of how to become an advocate.
Julie:
Yes, I think it'd be a great resource for those really worrying about how they might get started. Let's just be very clear - policies are more effective when clinicians are involved because they improve the policy feasibility and relevance. They increase the public credibility and trust. I'm sure they've reduced the implementation failures and also make sure policy decisions are aligned with real patient needs.
So, let's encourage everyone to have a look at that resource.
So, Kadija, Kenya launched its national cervical cancer elimination strategy in January. Congratulations on being one of the only seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa that has. Uh, does you national plan address ongoing advocacy.
Khadija:
Um, yes, first. I congratulate the Kenyan team who were behind this National strategic document, and the plan has envisioned for the next 5 years, It has advocacy. A strong advocacy component, and particularly this is in terms of the community health work engagement. What targeted messaging should be sent out to the community? The political and strategic advocacy and this will ensure the healthcare worker has a framework for advocating for our 47 county level leaders to ensure implementation of the national strategy.
And this is a great example to where clinicians can add value to the local advocacy efforts. Professional organization, patient advocacy group, civil societies will also be working to ensure that the national strategy is implemented. We benefit from that and should be working alongside them for rapid adoption. ACCESS Africa also highlighted the opportunity to learn from country experiences and as an IGCS community, we should be sharing our success and our failures so that others can learn from them. Clinicians would be the strongest vehicle for that sharing and carry the ideas and solutions to their own policy makers.
Julie:
Thank you Kadija for those insights, One last question to you. We convening again at the IGCS2026 meeting in Montreal. What progress would you like to report from Kenya in this regard?
Khadija:
So, on a personal level, I will be excited to report that this 2026 is going to be a year of protecting our women in Kenya and Africa as the new national strategy gets rolled out. Cervical cancer is preventable, and we have to leave our own personal comfort zones and advocate to get the message out to our communities.
And then following on from the Access African meeting, I would love to be able to report that we now have continental ownership of their ambition to eliminate cervical cancer as a continent for the first time, and we have a network of IGCS members who are actually maintaining continuous momentum and creating a political attention, which will allow eventual realization of cervical cancer elimination.
Julie:
Well, we look forward to seeing your predictions realized when we meet again in Canada. This is Julie to Road reporting for IGCS. Thank you Dr Khadija Warfa for this interview, I'm wishing you and your National Partners an impactful year as you implement the new National cervical cancer elimination strategy for Kenya
Khadija:
Thank you so much Julie.
 

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Moderated by Wendel Naumann (USA) and Floor Backes (USA).

Kathy Han (Canada) discusses with Jyoti Mayadev (USA) about ctDNA insights from the Phase 3 CALLA trial, studying durvalumab with chemoradiation in locally advanced cervical cancer. They discuss how tumor-informed and HPV-based assays can detect residual disease months before relapse, opening the door to risk-adapted therapy. Tune in for a deep dive into how these biomarkers could transform post-treatment care and clinical trial design.
Annals of Oncology publication

Recorded during Cervical Cancer Awareness Month 2026, this podcast reflects on the first IGCS ACCESS Africa event—the Accelerating Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategies Symposium—held in Cape Town at the 2025 IGCS Annual Global Meeting.
Julie Torode, PhD, global cancer prevention and policy specialist and IGCS ACCESS Facilitator, is joined in conversation by Professor Isaac Adewole, gynecologic oncologist, former Nigerian Minister of Health, Chair of Nigeria’s National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination, and moderator of the ACCESS Africa symposium.
Their discussion recaps key themes from the sessions, including the importance of coordinated national planning, integration across the prevention–screening–treatment continuum, and shared learning between countries as progress toward the 90:70:90 targets accelerates.
The IGCS ACCESS Series is supported in part by the IGCS World of Hope Development Fund. To support our efforts and initiatives, please donate today at igcs.org/donate.
Transcript
Julie:January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month across Africa, and this is Julie Torode, working with the International Gynecologic Cancer Society, speaking with Professor Isaac Adewole, Former President of AORTIC – the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer, Former Minister of Health of Nigeria, and currently Chair of the National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria – welcome Professor Isaac Adewole.
Isaac, tell us about the vision of the IGCS and how that has led to ACCESS Africa, the kick off of a five year project in Cape Town , South Africa.
Isaac:Well, Julie, I agreed to moderate the ACCESS Africa meeting as the goal of ensuring that all high burden countries have a cervical cancer elimination plan that is being implemented by 2030 resonates with me as a health professional, I am a gynecologic oncologist; on a public health policy level, as a former Minister of Health and on a community level in my current role as co-chair of the national taskforce on cervical Elimination in Nigeria.
The IGCS annual meeting moves location each year, so it will be held at five different locations through 2030. Fittingly, Cape Town hosted the first meeting - African communities stand to benefit tremendously from the elimination of cervical cancer, but we need to act now.
Julie:IGCS conducted a mapping to set our baseline for ACCESS Africa. Only 5 of 47 countries across the African continent have a current cervical cancer elimination plan. What are your thoughts on that, Isaac?
Isaac:Yes, a few countries are leading the way. Across Africa, we need to work together to prioritize political action to deliver on plans. Our work as a national task force for cervical cancer elimination in Nigeria has shown that bringing stakeholders together can build coordinated action across the care continuum, fostering coherence in policy support and financing. The plan is galvanizing for the community, civil society and the health workforce. We are all working towards the same goal, and we now have a partnership that is driving coordinated implementation.
Julie:Wonderful to hear about this implementation partnership approach in Nigeria and perhaps a model to emulate.During ACCESS Africa, the challenges expressed by country representatives mostly seemed similar. Would you agree, Issac?
Isaac:We are making progress on our continent, don’t get me wrong, but what I see is fragmented efforts nationally and very much siloed activities.
Yes, we are working towards 90% HPV vaccination of girls by age 15, but this is not connected to the other pillars.
Yes, we are building services for at least two lifetime cervical screens for women by age 35 and again by age 45. But our screening program must also have national coverage.
Still, we need to do better on the critical treatment referral steps, noting the urgency for women with cervical disease – these women are at greatest risk - to get prompt treatment for precancers or cervical cancer and palliative care when needed.
Julie:I was impressed by the depth of the activities discussed during ACCESS Africa. The importance of communication, communication and yet more communication came through loud and clear. What roles do communities play in our mission?
Isaac:Absolutely, the community voice is pivotal in three main ways:
Health literacy, building knowledge and uptake of prevention and early detection services, not only of this current generation but also of future generations
Addressing stigma and taboos alongside financial protections, which we know stand in the way of uptake of services
Adding the community voice to our expert voice, demanding that our politicians get behind the elimination of a cancer for the first time.
Julie:There was also a clear call for communicating learnings between countries. Particularly on public messaging that is working well, and the need for bespoke messaging and services for hard-to-reach communities – very remote communities and internally displaced populations were identified as populations for special focus by speakers from countries already scaling services. Would you agree, Issac?
Isaac:Yes, the trailblazer countries, we are calling them. So essential for facilitating learning from what works and what does not. IGCS African members and partners can be catalysts to stimulate action across all three pillars towards the 90:70:90 targets that governments have agreed to by 2030. Yes, Africans have the most to do, as our burden is so high. Sub-Saharan African countries lead the ranking in terms of cervical cancer incidence, at 2-4 times the highest rates than anywhere else in the world. Still, we also have the most benefit from elimination.
Julie:Absolutely true. We ran a survey before the ACCESS Africa symposium and received 125 responses from IGCS members across Africa. I was inspired that 100% of respondents were committed to the mission – what’s your personal call to action during Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, Issac?
Isaac:Well, I have two, if I may, Julie—one to IGCS members and one to the African cervical cancer community at large.
To IGCS members, you are key to driving national and continental action. I encourage you to use our social media kit, generate your own media engagement, and promote the ACCESS Africa ambition for all African countries to have an operational cervical cancer elimination plan by 2030. Share your personal pledge with IGCS and report back in Montreal.
Secondly, This call to action goes beyond IGCS members, and I speak to all organizations, large and small - can you contribute? Yes – join us in building an Africa-wide movement to eliminate cervical cancer; let’s work together to use the momentum from Cape Town for continental-wide action.
Julie:That’s a great call to action, thank you, Issac. For our final question, Isaac, ACCESS Africa will report back on progress at IGCS 2026 later this year. How many more national cervical cancer elimination strategies do you expect? Think we can add to that map by the conference in Montreal?
Isaac:I would love to see at least 10 plans in the public domain by the end of this year, and for us to be able to report that at least another 10 now have teams in place to finalise plans and action plans by 2027.
Julie:That would be great. We look forward to seeing your predictions realised when we meet in Canada. This is Julie Torode, reporting for IGCS – thank you, Professor Isaac Adewole, for this interview and wishing you and your partners an impactful cervical cancer awareness month in Nigeria.
 

As we move through the holiday season and transition into a new year, IGCS CEO Mary Eiken reflects on the guiding principles that shape her leadership.
Listen to our special year-end podcast episode to learn what grounds her: leading with gratitude, focusing on impact, and advancing equity in global cancer care.

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In this special IGCS podcast episode, we spotlight the United Kingdom’s groundbreaking National Lynch Syndrome Project and its free, globally accessible e-learning modules that equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to implement genetic testing for Lynch syndrome in gynecologic oncology.
Moderated by Dr. Paul Cohen, Chair of the IGCS Education Committee, this discussion features expert insights on:
The clinical importance of identifying Lynch syndrome in endometrial and ovarian cancer patients
Practical approaches to genetic testing workflows
The limitations of family history alone in identifying at-risk patients
The critical role of nurses and non-genetics professionals in counseling and delivering testing
A powerful patient perspective on the experience and impact of genetic testing
Expert Panel:
Dr. Ranjit Manchanda, Professor of Gynecological Oncology, Queen Mary University of London; Consultant, Barts Health NHS Trust; Co-Lead, Cancer Screening, Prevention & Epidemiology Unit
Rachel Perfect Lake, Clinical Nurse Specialist
Hamda Mohamed, Clinical Nurse Specialist
Ruth Ilett, Endometrial Cancer Patient

The panel explores innovations in surgery, medical therapies—including immunotherapy and targeted treatments—supportive care strategies, and prevention, offering practical takeaways and forward-looking insights to improve patient outcomes.
Moderator: Dr. Brian Slomovitz
Panelists: Dr. Angelica Rodriguez, Dr. Tom Herzog, and Courtney Arn
Special thank you to The GOG Foundation Inc for providing recording support. https://www.gog.org/

Dr. Michael Pearl (USA) discusses end of life decisions, conflicts, and how multidisciplinary teams can support patients, caregivers, and team members in managing unresolved or complex MBO cases.
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Dr. Glauco Baiocchi (Brazil) shares when surgery is indicated for MBO, reviewing specific procedures, risks and benefits, and how to apply current evidence to guide surgical decision-making.This podcast series explores the complexities of malignant bowel obstruction (MBO) in gynecologic cancer patients, offering expert insights into diagnosis, decision-making, ethics, surgical and non-surgical management strategies, and future directions in care. Each episode is hosted the IGCS Education Palliative Care workgroup co-chairs, Dr. Peter Grant (Australia) and Dr. Anisa Mburu (Kenya) and features an expert, guest speaker sharing their knowledge on MBO.