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• Another difficulty identified was the shortage of human resources. Personnel shortages mean
that programs do not have the capacity to screen and treat women or to provide palliative care
for those with advanced cancer. Countries agreed they need more trained health workers, as
well as training materials and IEC materials in languages of the local populations.
• Funding remains a critical challenge that affects everything from procuring vaccines to paying
health workers to improving the cold chain to purchasing equipment for screening and treating.
Funding from NGOs comes with its own challenges: the problems of sustainability and a lack of
coordination of efforts.
In addition to these four common themes, other issues mentioned were the fear of many women to
undergo screening, the need for cancer registries, and poor referral systems.
With these challenges in mind, country teams discussed priorities and listed the short-, medium-, and
long-term activities that each should initiate to move the agenda forward. In addition, each country
noted the areas in which they require technical support. These country-specific activities and
requirements for technical support are included in Annex 6.
PATH/Scott Wittet
Report of an African Regional Meeting on Cervical Cancer: September 2010 55