Operational considerations for increasing access to cervical cancer screening and treatment for women living with HIV

Overview

This report summarizes the discussions and lessons learned from a WHO think tank meeting on the Operational considerations for increasing access to cervical cancer screening and treatment for women living with HIV. Women living with HIV have a 6-fold increased risk of developing cervical cancer compared to women without HIV. 

In 2021 WHO published the second edition of guidelines for screening and treatment of cervical pre-cancer lesions for cervical cancer prevention, including 16 new recommendations and good practice statements for women living with HIV. However, the implementation of the recommendations has been challenging in some settings. The objectives of the meeting were to: (i) describe current models of service delivery for cervical cancer screening and treatment for women living with HIV, including interventions to increase cervical cancer screening and treatment uptake and follow-up; (ii) discuss opportunities and challenges associated with those models; and (iii) identify persistent knowledge gaps in the implementation of screening and treatment services among women living with HIV. 

This report describes the meeting discussions on these topics, and examples from countries on their movement towards integrated healthcare approaches to service delivery that can increase coverage of cervical cancer screening and treatment among women living with HIV. Women with a lived experience of HIV and cervical cancer championed the need for an accelerated expansion of services and for building awareness and advocacy.