Health System Strategies to Improve the Uptake of Cervical Cancer Screening in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Scoping Systematic Review.

This article focuses on health system-level strategies to improve cervical cancer screening (CCS) uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where cervical cancer incidence and mortality are highest globally. A scoping systematic review of 42 studies from 17 SSA countries identified effective interventions addressing barriers such as inaccessibility to screening services, shortage of skilled providers, and limited resources. Key strategies included offering human papillomavirus (HPV) self-collection, implementing single-visit screen-and-treat approaches, providing CCS in community settings, training nonclinical providers through task-shifting, and integrating CCS into existing health services like HIV clinics. The review highlights the need for scalable, sustainable, and context-sensitive implementation approaches to support the World Health Organization's goal of screening 70% of women and reducing cervical cancer burden in SSA.