Ottawa, Feb. 26 -- Cervical cancer is now the fastest-rising cancer in Canada, prompting physicians and health advocates to call for urgent national action to reverse what they describe as a growing public health crisis.

Medical groups raised the alarm at a news conference in Ottawa on Wednesday, warning that despite being almost entirely preventable, cervical cancer rates are increasing as vaccination and screening efforts stall, according to CityNews Toronto.

Officials from the Society of Gynecologic Oncology of Canada and the Women's Health Coalition of Canada said Canada has the medical tools to eliminate the disease but lacks coordinated national implementation.

"We have the medical expertise. We just need the political will," she...