Go Further: Partnership to End AIDS and Cervical Cancer

Launched in May 2018, Go Further is an innovative public-private partnership between the PEPFAR, the George W. Bush Institute, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Merck, and Roche aiming to end AIDS and cervical cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa within a generation.

Go Further is committed to creating a healthier future for women. The partnership aims to reduce new cervical cancer cases by 95 percent among the estimated 11 million women living with HIV who reside in the partnership’s 12 African countries, which have some of the highest rates of HIV prevalence and cervical cancer incidence in the world. Women who are HIV-positive are up to six times more likely to develop invasive cervical cancer.

Go Further invests in partner countries to integrate and scale-up cervical cancer screening and treatment services within existing platforms for HIV treatment and women’s health. The success of this program is made possible by the thousands of mothers, sisters, and daughters who bravely confront HIV and cervical cancer diagnoses every day.

As of 2023, the Go Further partnership has supported over 7.4 million cervical cancer screenings for women living with HIV, including 82% for whom it was a first-time screening, and treated 285,000 women for pre-invasive cancerous lesions.

These results [597 KB] are critical, as an estimated 110,000 women are diagnosed annually with cervical cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa. Without treatment, 66 percent of these women would be expected to die from the disease.

To address these risks, Go Further is increasing access to the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) to prevent cervical cancer, expanding the availability of vital cervical cancer screening, and providing treatment for women most vulnerable to developing cervical cancer. With minimal additional investment, these low-cost interventions can save millions of lives and help secure global gains against HIV/AIDS.