A Shared Vision for South East Europe: Eliminating HPV Cancers Together
Read here the full text of the HPV South East Europe Declaration
The European Cancer Organisation recently held a conference titled: A Shared Vision for South East Europe: Eliminating HPV Cancers Together. The event took place on Thursday, 23 January 2025, and was proudly held at the Bulgarian Parliament building, with thanks to the kind hosting of Natalia Kiselova, Chairwoman of the Bulgarian Parliament.
The conference served as a platform to strengthen regional collaboration, share successful practices, and discuss challenges and opportunities for the new year in combating HPV-related cancers across borders in South East Europe. By convening stakeholders from diverse backgrounds, the event aimed at accelerating progress towards the elimination of these cancers across the region.
Key topics of discussion included:
- Enhancing HPV vaccination uptake to achieve higher coverage rates.
- Improving access to and effectiveness of screening programmes.
- Addressing barriers to prevention and fostering sustainable policy solutions.
- Developing strong effective stakeholder coalitions for action.
- Interrogating the latest data on South East Europe's HPV elimination progress.
This event underscored the ECO’s commitment to leading collective efforts in the fight against HPV-related cancers and driving impactful action through regional partnerships.
Questions about the event?
Programme
Please note that the below schedule is in Eastern European Time (EET), as the event was hosted in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Opening remarks by:
- Momchil Baev - HPV Bulgaria Consultant, European Cancer Organisation
Moderated by:
- Daniel Kelly - Co-Chair of the European Cancer Organisation's HPV and Hep B Action Network
- Alexander Simidchiev - Member of the Bulgarian Parliament
13:30 - 14:15 |
Registration |
14:15 - 15:15 |
Setting the scene: the European landscape |
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High-level speakers from the political, EU and global health background will elaborate on the vision of HPV elimination and the role that the South East European region can play. Speakers include:
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15:15 – 15:45 |
Sharing best practices: how to form an HPV coalition |
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Case studies on coalition forming from Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria will be shared and vibrant discussions will be engendered on the extention of this approach to other countries in the South East European region. Moderated by:
Speakers include:
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15:45 – 16:30 |
Benefits and challenges of dashboards and data usage for informed decision-making in South East Europe |
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Spotlight on the European Cancer Pulse and the HPV Prevention Policy Atlas. Moderated by:
Speakers include:
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16:30 – 17:45 |
Meeting the HPV vaccination challenges across the region |
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How to work together with different advocates, stakeholders and organisations to promote gender-neutral vaccination uptake, improved delivery of vaccination, combating hesitancy in the general population and setting up vaccine registries. Moderated by:
Speakers include:
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17:45 – 18:45 |
Cervical cancer screening policies across the South East Europe region |
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A comparison of approaches between different countries in South East Europe, including a focus on the forms of testing performed, self-sampling, genotyping and the institution of screening registries. Moderated by:
Speakers include:
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18:45 – 18:50 |
Uniting forces: statements of support |
18:50 - 19:15 |
Signing of a joint declaration with all the countries gathered |
19:30 - 21:30 |
Reception & Networking (cocktail and dinner) |
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Central Military Club, Floor 2, Ceremonial Hall |
Speakers
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Christina de Bruin Representative of UNICEF Bulgaria
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Emanuela Dodeva President and Co-Founder, EZRA
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Gorica Đokić Vice President, Association for the Fight against Ovarian and Cervical Cancer "PROGOVORI"
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Amil Družić Medical Doctor, Oncology Clinic of the Sarajevo Clinical Center University
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Stella Kyriakides Former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
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Silvi Kirilov Minister of Health of Bulgaria
Speakers
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Christina de Bruin Representative of UNICEF Bulgaria
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Emanuela Dodeva President and Co-Founder, EZRA
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Gorica Đokić Vice President, Association for the Fight against Ovarian and Cervical Cancer "PROGOVORI"
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Amil Družić Medical Doctor, Oncology Clinic of the Sarajevo Clinical Center University
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Stella Kyriakides Former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
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Silvi Kirilov Minister of Health of Bulgaria
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Kostadin Angelov Member of Bulgarian Parliament, former Minister of Health
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Radka Argirova Member of the HPV Bulgaria Coalition
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Ana Banko Associate Professor, Institute for Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade
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Hristiana Batselova Medical Doctor, University Hospital "St George" JSC
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Tiberius Brădăţan Secretary of State for Ministry of Health, Romania (video address)
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Christina de Bruin Representative of UNICEF Bulgaria
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Goran Dimitrov President, Macedonian Medical Association and Macedonian Society for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy
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Emanuela Dodeva President and Co-Founder, EZRA
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Marina Davidashvili Head of Policy and Research, European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual & Reproductive Rights
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Gorica Đokić Vice President, Association for the Fight against Ovarian and Cervical Cancer "PROGOVORI"
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Aleksandra Grozdanova National Coordinator for Immunisation, Head of Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Ss. Cyril and Methodius, North Macedonia
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Verica Jovanović Associate Professor, Acting Director, Institute of Public Health of Serbia
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Daniel Kelly PROTECT-EUROPE Steering Committee Co-Chair & Co-Chair of the ECO HPV and Hep B Action Network Read Bio
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Stella Kyriakides Former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
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Silvi Kirilov Minister of Health of Bulgaria
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Natalia Kiselova President of 51st National Assembly of Bulgaria
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Tamar Khomasuridze Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health Advisor, United Nations Populations Fund Read Bio
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Michail Okoliyski Member of the HPV Bulgaria Coalition
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Veronika Rybanska Head of Healthcare Research and Analyses Dept., Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic
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Asaf Salčinović Epidemiologist, Public Health Institute of Canton Sarajevo
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Alexander Simidchiev Member of the Bulgarian Parliament
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Mehmet Ungan Professor, Ankara University School of Medicine; past President of WONCA Europe Read Bio
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Alban Ylli Head Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, Institute of Public Health, Albania
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Tanya Zlatanova Bulgarian Scientific Society of Immune Oncology
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Norbert Couespel Policy Research & EU Projects Manager, European Cancer Organisation
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Speakers
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Christina de Bruin Representative of UNICEF Bulgaria
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Emanuela Dodeva President and Co-Founder, EZRA
-
Gorica Đokić Vice President, Association for the Fight against Ovarian and Cervical Cancer "PROGOVORI"
-
Amil Družić Medical Doctor, Oncology Clinic of the Sarajevo Clinical Center University
-
Stella Kyriakides Former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
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Silvi Kirilov Minister of Health of Bulgaria
Speakers
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Christina de Bruin Representative of UNICEF Bulgaria
-
Emanuela Dodeva President and Co-Founder, EZRA
-
Gorica Đokić Vice President, Association for the Fight against Ovarian and Cervical Cancer "PROGOVORI"
-
Amil Družić Medical Doctor, Oncology Clinic of the Sarajevo Clinical Center University
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Stella Kyriakides Former European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
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Silvi Kirilov Minister of Health of Bulgaria
