Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador: Gains to Date and Challenges for the Future
Karla Alfaro, Montserrat Soler, Maurício Maza, Mauricio Flores, Leticia López, Juan Rauda, Andrea Chacón, Patricia Erazo, Nora Villatoro, Eveline Mumenthaler, Rachel Masch, Gabriel Conzuelo-Rodríguez, Juan Felix, Miriam Cremer
Abstract
Cervical cancer is preventable through vaccination, early detection, and the treatment of pre-cancerous lesions. However, global inequalities mean that the disease remains a leading cause of cancer death around the world, with over 80% of new cases and 90% of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In El Salvador, joint efforts between the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the non-profit organization Basic Health International (BHI) have been in place since 2008, with the goal of reducing the country's disease burden. While the World Health Organization's (WHO) call to action to eliminate cervical cancer provided worldwide momentum to implement new public health initiatives, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted ongoing programs and jeopardized plans for the future. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the progress that El Salvador has achieved in improving cervical cancer prevention, the impact of the pandemic on current strategies, and potential solutions that can help the country meet the WHO's strategic targets by 2030 to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer.