Solving the Puzzle of Cervical Cancer Control in Africa: Country by Country

Rutgers Global Health Institute is hosting a guest faculty seminar at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, as part of its Viewpoints in Global Health Research: Guest Faculty Seminar Series.

This online seminar will be presented by:

D. Cristina Stefan
Institute of Global Health Equity Research, University of Global Health Equity

Solving the Puzzle of Cervical Cancer Control in Africa: Country by Country
Nineteen out of the 20 countries with the highest burden of cervical cancer globally are in Africa. The World Health Organization launched the global cervical cancer initiative in 2018. Africa now has less than eight years remaining to reach the ambitious target of 90-70-90 set for the year 2030. 

This seminar will review a baseline assessment of the findings of a survey of the readiness of the health care systems in six African “first wave” countries: Eswatini, Guinea, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. 

About the Presenter
Cristina Stefan obtained her medical degree in Romania, and she later received a master’s degree in pediatrics and oncology in South Africa, a master’s degree in cancer epidemiology in the United Kingdom, and a Ph.D. degree in medical education and an M.B.A. degree in France.

She was head of the pediatric oncology department at Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa, and then became the vice president of the South African Medical Research Council. In 2016, she joined Roche Diagnostics in Switzerland as the global oncology leader and later became the leader of innovation in oncology and clinical decision support for Asia-Pacific in Singapore.

Upon later returning to academics and research, Stefan became an adjunct professor at Sing Duke University, accepted invitations to lecture in Geneva, and offered to supervise Ph.D. students in Romania. She continued her research activity, completing studies for the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa’s Noncommunicable Diseases Cluster and the African Commission on Nuclear Energy. She was recently appointed as director of the Institute of Global Health Equity Research in Rwanda, part of the University of Global Health Equity.

Stefan is the founder of the African Cancer Institute and the African Medical Research and Innovation Institute, and she was the first woman to be elected president of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer. She is the author of three cancer books, has advised African ministers of health, and has been a WHO consultant.

Online via Zoom

Free and open to the public. For more information, email info@globalhealth.rutgers.edu. For more events, visit the seminar series page on the Rutgers Global Health Institute website or explore the institute’s full online calendar.