Plans for Year 2
In the Alliance's second year, partners are implementing and evaluating existing projects and initiating several new activities in Asia and Latin America. By the end of 2001, Alliance partners should be well on their way to addressing many of the outstanding questions about cervical cancer prevention in poor countries, such as what conditions maximize the effectiveness of VIA; to what degree HPV testing can be a cost-effective, acceptable screening approach in low-resource settings; and how safe and acceptable cryotherapy is for women in varied settings.
In the area of technology assessment, it will be especially important to further define options for use of HPV testing, given the increasing interest in use of this technology for primary screening among older women.
Service delivery approaches also are being clarified and systematized. Further refinement of training approaches for VIA are a particular emphasis, with experience from India, Thailand, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Peru clarifying the needs and challenges of trainers and training guidelines. Other service delivery issues to be addressed include providing access to HPV and liquid-based cytology, developing regional cervical cancer prevention training facilities, building consensus with respect to training in low-tech cervical cancer prevention methods, and reviewing cost models for cervical cancer screening and treatment.
Efforts to field-test and identify sustainable community involvement strategies and to document community and client needs and concerns related to cervical cancer prevention programs are continuing. Also, several documents will summarize experience and program implications for ensuring community participation in new programs.
In the area of advocacy, an array of publications for different audiences, further definition of policy-makers' information needs, and a cervical cancer prevention advocacy packet are in development. Alliance members will also participate in meetings and conferences related to cervical cancer.
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