In this week's PLoS Medicine, Groesbeck Parham from the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, and colleagues describe their Cervical Cancer Prevention Program, which has provided services to over 58,000 women over the past five years. The authors share lessons learned from the program's implementation and its integration with existing HIV/AIDS programs, aiming to help other cervical cancer prevention initiatives succeed in the developing world and avoid placing additional burdens on health systems.
The authors say "By integrating a setting-appropriate protocol for cervical cancer prevention into public health infrastructures, and promoting shared leadership with government ownership, our program has not just saved lives, but has also established a new solution for routine prevention intervention in resource-constrained environments."
Funding: The work described in this article has received funding from various agencies, including the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program through the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Support for authors was from individual institutional resources, Fogarty International Center grants (D43TW001035 and R24007988), and the ORISE Research Participation Program of National Cancer Institute. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Citation: Mwanahamuntu MH, Sahasrabuddhe VV, Kapambwe S, Pfaendler KS, Chibwesha C,
et al. (2011) Advancing Cervical Cancer Prevention Initiatives in Resource-Constrained Settings: Insights from the Cervical Cancer Prevention Program in Zambia. PLoS Med 8(5): e1001032. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001032
CONTACT:
Dr. Groesbeck Parham
Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia
Plot # 5977 Benekale Road
Northmead
Lusaka
10101
Zambia
+260 978124392
Groesbeck.Parham@cidrz.org
Journal
PLoS Medicine