Cervical Cancer in Sub Sahara Africa

Abstract

The burden of cervical cancer is quite low in the developed countries of the world. The situation is quite the reverse in developing countries where it constitutes a major health problem. While the incidence is decreasing in the former, it is on the increase in the later. This is a source of great concern considering the fact that cervical cancer is preventable and curable at low cost with currently available methods. Sub Sahara Africa is the region with the highest incidence of cervical cancer in the world with concomitant high mortality affecting women at their prime. There are no screening programs for early detection of precancerous lesions within the countries of Sub Sahara Africa. Most screening activities are done as pilot or research projects which are discontinued on completion. South Africa is the only country in the region with a national cytology based screening program since 2001 but then coverage remains poor and the impact on invasive cervical cancer is unknown (Louie et al.2009). The onset of HIV/AIDS epidemic that is highest in the sub region has elevated the problem of cervical cancer to a serious level. To compound the problem is the widespread lack of resources associated with the region. The countries of Sub Sahara Africa are shown in figure 1.