Re-thinking breast and cervical cancer preventive campaigns in developing countries: the case for interventions at high schools

BACKGROUND: The negative impact of cervical and breast cancers in low and lower-middle income countries are worsening, and, along with other non-communicable diseases, occur disproportionately in these resource-limited economies. Most preventive approaches to these cancers require government funding, but few countries with the most at-risk population can afford government-sponsored universal vaccination, screening, diagnostic and treatment programmes, which, along with socioeconomic issues, contribute to the poor outcomes in these mostly developing countries. An urgent need exists, therefore, to find an effective, affordable, cost-effective, culturally-acceptable and sustainable way of reducing these cancers. This paper advocates a re-thinking in the current preventive campaigns. MAIN BODY: Using evidence provided by recently-published papers, a case is made for enlightenment campaigns to primarily target teenagers (boys and girls) in high schools of developing countries. Inclusions into the schools’ academic curricula are the recommended approach, given that both cancers take hold on populations within that age bracket. This approach, if adopted, may be the only accessible, affordable and realistic approach that gives millions of women in low and lower-middle income countries the chance at survival. Empowering them early instils the self-awareness and confidence necessary for young adults to take charge of their own health. The acquired knowledge, in turn, helps them adopt positive attitudes and preventive behaviours that will, ultimately, prolong their lives. CONCLUSION: The recommended approach offers governments and concerned stakeholders an evidence-based option that allows them to deliver cost-effective and sustainable life-saving interventions, while hoping to get around the bottlenecks that limit the large scale implementation of other effective but capital-intensive strategies. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-6890-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.