Cervical Cancer Prevention in El Salvador: Gains to Date and Challenges for the Future

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Cervical cancer is a leading cause of death for women in low-resource areas around the world. However, the disease can be prevented through vaccination, screening, and early treatment. Recently, the World Health Organization released a strategy with the goal of eliminating cervical cancer through a combination of these three preventive strategies. In El Salvador, a screening program has been in place for some years, and vaccination is in its early stages. Here, we describe the Salvadoran experience and discuss successes to date and challenges for the future. We also provide recommendations that may be helpful for other countries working to meet the WHO elimination goals. 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.