Public-private partnerships support Jhpiego's work in cervical cancer prevention
Each year, approximately 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed, and 250,000 women die from the disease. More than 80% of these deaths occur in developing countries. As a result of competing health priorities, many governments in low-resource countries may not have adequate funding to introduce, expand or improve their current programs for
cervical cancer prevention and treatment. It has therefore become increasingly important to engage the private sector in partnerships with the government to provide support for these programs.
Jhpiego's Cervical Cancer Prevention Program (CECAP) has successfully partnered with the private sector to implement and support cervical cancer prevention programs in a number of countries:
The Cancer Institute at the Philippine General Hospital, in partnership with Jhpiego and with support from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is implementing an initiative in the Philippines to introduce the Single Visit Approach (SVA), an alternative to cytology-based Pap smear, in selected pilot locations. SVA links testing (visual inspection with acetic acid) with the offer of treatment (cryotherapy) or other management options, at the same visit. This initiative also aims to develop local training capacity for future expansion efforts, and create greater awareness about cervical cancer prevention and treatment among women, families, policymakers and other stakeholders.
In Indonesia, the Ford Foundation, in collaboration with the Government of Indonesia, has partnered with Jhpiego to support a project that focuses on increasing the country’s readiness to build and sustain a coordinated cervical cancer prevention program. This initiative aims to work at the national level on policy, guidelines and advocacy issues, and at the local level by implementing a screening and treatment pilot project.
The Royal Thai Ministry of Health and Chulalongkorn University, with support from GSK and Jhpiego, are conducting a research study in Thailand that is reviewing the current status of women who were previously screened and treated for precancerous lesions using the SVA. The result of this study is expected to yield critical evidence that will refine clinical guidelines for follow-up screening and treatment.
In South Africa, GSK has provided a grant that will provide cervical cancer screening services to HIV-infected women and support training of providers in screening techniques. This funding complements current US Government funding and is an example of a successful public-private partnership.
Other examples of successful partnerships include those with the Rotary Club, which worked with Jhpiego to support community education and screening activities in Ghana and South Africa, and with Nahuda, a local nongovernmental organization in Nepal that has collaborated with Jhpiego to provide cervical cancer prevention services in their clinic.
Jhpiego continues to participate actively in coordinated, collaborative efforts with a broad range of private and public partners to further the global agenda of improving women’s health and saving lives through programs to prevent cervical cancer.
About Jhpiego
For nearly 40 years, Jhpiego, (pronounced "ja-pie-go"), has empowered front-line health
workers by designing and implementing simple, low-cost, hands-on solutions that
strengthen the delivery of health care services, following the
household-to-hospital continuum of care. We partner with community- to
national-level organizations to build sustainable, local capacity through
advocacy, policy and guidelines development, and quality and performance
improvement approaches.
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