Background
The Ministry of Health organised a national capacity-building programme to strengthen clinical screening and treatment for cervical cancer using colposcopy, thermal ablation and LEEP. The seven-day course combined five days of focused technical instruction with two days of team-based exercises on device maintenance, infection prevention and patient counselling.
Sixty-eight clinicians from national and provincial hospitals took part in the training, which included hands-on diagnostic and treatment sessions in the gynecology unit at Calmette Hospital. JICA collaborated in the programme and delivered a printed clinical guidance manual on colposcopy, thermal ablation and LEEP to the Ministry for distribution to trainees.
Institutional Role
The activity was led by senior Ministry officials and the technical working group for cervical cancer control, which organised clinical mentorship, competency evaluation and quality assurance for participating clinicians. Development partners provided funding and technical support: H-EQIP 2 contributed budgetary and technical assistance for several provincial hospitals, and WHO supported one hospital in the equipment distribution effort.
Operational Implications
The training curriculum emphasised practical skills for diagnostic colposcopy, thermal ablation of precancerous cervical lesions, and LEEP procedures for excisional treatment; sessions combined simulation practice with supervised clinical cases. Local clinicians received instruction on device cleaning, maintenance protocols and infection-prevention measures intended to support safe service delivery at provincial and national facilities.
Key Developments
At the closing ceremony the Ministry announced distribution of screening and treatment equipment to multiple hospitals: devices were allocated to eight national hospitals and seven provincial hospitals (six provincial hospitals supported under H-EQIP 2 and one supported by WHO). The course engaged participants from across provinces and was positioned as a step to expand the availability of timely cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment services within existing public health facilities.
Source
Ministry of Health Facebook post, 11 June 2026: source link.
