What is it about?

Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the leading causes of cancer death in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where CC burden is worsened by HIV epidemics. To benchmark progress, we examined temporal trends in screening coverage, percent screened at least twice by the age of 45, screening coverage among women living with HIV (WLHIV), and pre-cancer treatment coverage in SSA.

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Why is it important?

Given that large cohorts of women remain unprotected by vaccines, we sought to monitor temporal trends in CC screening coverage, screening coverage by HIV status, rates of re-screening, and pre-cancer treatment coverage.

Perspectives

Most women are not being reached by CC screening programs and none of the countries have reached WHO’s targets for CC screening. Alongside expansion of HPV vaccination programs, action needs to be taken to improve and address barriers towards screening, including strengthening data collection systems, if CC is to be eliminated.

Mathieu Maheu-Giroux
McGill University

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This page is a summary of: Regional and country-level trends in cervical cancer screening coverage in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic analysis of population-based surveys (2000–2020), PLoS Medicine, January 2023, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1004143.
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