Scale Up Cervical Cancer Elimination with SecondaryPrevention Strategy – For Asia Pacific ( SUCCESS-FAP ) works where cervical cancer prevention is needed most—in communities that are unserved, underserved, and geographically isolated, and in health systems that are actively seeking solutions that are effective, scalable, and sustainable.

Our work in the Philippines demonstrates how secondary prevention strategies—when designed around women’s realities—can overcome barriers of distance, poverty, stigma, and limited health infrastructure. At the same time, these local experiences generate lessons that inform cervical cancer elimination efforts across the Asia-Pacific region.

The Philippines

A Frontline Country for Cervical Cancer Elimination

The Philippines stands at a critical intersection in the global fight against cervical cancer.

As an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands, the country faces unique challenges in delivering equitable health services—particularly for women living in remote islands, coastal communities, and rural barangays. While national commitment to women’s health and universal health care continues to strengthen, screening coverage for cervical cancer has historically remained very low, leaving many women undiagnosed until disease is advanced.

At the same time, the Philippines offers a powerful opportunity:

• Strong government leadership in women’s health

• Active engagement of civil society organizations

• Growing domestic investment in HPV testing and cancer care

• Willingness to pilot and institutionalize innovative models

SUCCESS-FAP positions the Philippines not simply as a beneficiary country, but as a learning ground—demonstrating how cervical cancer elimination can be achieved in complex, geographically diverse settings.

Iloilo Province

Translating National Policy into Community Action

Within the Philippines, SUCCESS-FAP is implemented in Iloilo Province, a setting that reflects the broader challenges faced by many provinces across the country and the region.

Iloilo combines:

• • Mainland urban and semi-urban populations

  • Coastal and island municipalities

  • Communities with varying access to health facilities and specialists

The province has demonstrated strong readiness to implement community-based HPV screening, supported by provincial and municipal health leadership, and in collaboration with civil society partners. Iloilo serves as a bridge between national policy and local service delivery, making it an ideal site to refine, test, and strengthen models for last-mile cervical cancer prevention.

Reaching GIDA and UUA Communities

Carles, Estancia, and Lemery

SUCCESS-FAP Phase 3 focuses on geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs) and unserved and underserved areas (UUAs) in the municipalities of Carles, Estancia, and Lemery.

In these island and coastal communities, women face multiple barriers to care:

• • Long travel times by boat or land

  • Weather-dependent access to health facilities

  • Limited availability of trained providers

  • Financial and opportunity costs that delay or prevent screening

SUCCESS-FAP brings services closer to women, rather than requiring women to overcome these barriers on their own.

Through HPV self-collection, women can participate in screening in a manner that is private, dignified, and convenient. Those with abnormal results are supported through referral pathways for further evaluation and treatment at Western Visayas Medical Center and other Department of Health-accredited facilities, ensuring continuity of care.

By focusing on these communities, SUCCESS-FAP addresses the last mile of cervical cancer elimination—where the risk is highest and the gaps are widest.

For More Information – visit AMLIG KAY INDAY.

AMLIG KAY INDAY is a shared cervical cancer prevention initiative of the towns of Carles, Estancia, and Lemery, working together to bring HPV-DNA testing closer to women—whether in primary care facilities, remote islands, or mountainous communities.

From the Hiligaynon word “AMLIG“—meaning to care for and protect—and “INDAY”, a term of endearment for women, the name reflects our collective responsibility to nurture women’s health today to secure our shared future tomorrow.

Beyond Local Impact

An Asia-Pacific Regional Lens

The work of SUCCESS-FAP in the Philippines contributes to a broader Asia-Pacific vision for cervical cancer elimination.

Across the region, many countries share similar challenges:

• • Archipelagic and island geographies

  • Remote rural populations

  • High burden of cervical cancer

  • Health systems balancing innovation with limited resources

Lessons from Iloilo and other Philippine settings help inform regional dialogue, policy development, and program design—particularly for countries seeking to scale HPV testing, self-sampling, and screen-and-treat approaches in complex environments.

Through regional collaboration, knowledge exchange, and alignment with global strategies, SUCCESS-FAP supports the collective goal of making cervical cancer the first cancer eliminated through public health action.

SUCCESS-FAP’s work—from island barangays in Iloilo to regional collaboration across Asia-Pacific—demonstrates that cervical cancer elimination is achievable when innovation meets community leadership, and when global commitment is translated into local action.

Every community reached brings us one step closer to a future where no woman dies from a preventable cancer.