Hitting the Pause Button: The Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Prevention, Screening and Treatment Access in Indonesia

Abstract

As Indonesia grapples with COVID-19, it remains vital that other crucial health interventions continue to be prioritised to minimise the overall health footprint of the epidemic. Cervical cancer is a preventable disease, yet it is the most lethal female cancer in Indonesia, responsible for more than 18,000 deaths each year. Thanks to the efforts of several key groups driving health reforms to step up cervical cancer control in recent years, Indonesia has a national screening program and, up until late 2019, a HPV vaccination pilot program was being rolled out across five provinces. An interdisciplinary four-year study exploring the experiences of and health system responses to cervical cance..