Preventing Cervical Cancer in 
Low-Resource Settings 

Cervical cancer is an important women’s reproductive health problem, especially in developing countries, where over 80 percent of the 231,000 yearly deaths from cervical cancer occur.1 Yet cervical cancer—caused by infection with a sexually transmitted agent, human papillomavirus (HPV)—can be readily prevented by identifying and treating women with HPV-induced precancerous lesions of the cervix. Strategies for preventing HPV transmission also may decrease disease incidence among women in some settings. Although efforts to reduce the health impact of cervical cancer have been initiated all over the world, most attempts in developing countries have not been successful due to factors such as lack of awareness of the problem, limited access to necessary health interventions, inability to provide Pap smear services to women who need them, and ineffective use of available resources. Lessons learned from program experience combined with emerging information from research and policy assessments now make development of cost-effective, integrated programs in low-resource settings much more feasible. This updated edition of Outlook outlines the issues that must be considered when providing cervical cancer prevention services, and summarizes experiences and lessons learned from programs in developing countries. Much of the information has been adapted from the second edition of PATH’s Planning Appropriate Cervical Cancer Prevention Programs.2

Scope of the Problem

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and the leading cause of death from cancer among developing-country women. The most recent compilation of global data indicates that an estimated 466,000 new cases of cervical cancer occur annually among women worldwide; about 80 percent occur in developing countries. Of these, over half occur in Asia (see Figure 1). Rates are highest in Melanesia, Southern and Eastern Africa, and Central America.1

Figure 1. Estimated Number of New Cervical Cancer Cases in Some Developing Regions, 2000

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Source: Parkin, 2000¹

An important reason for the sharply higher cervical cancer incidence in developing countries is the lack of effective screening programs aimed at detecting and treating precancerous conditions. Compared with women in developed countries, very few women in developing countries have access to screening for precancerous cervical lesions. 

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