What's the biggest killer of middle aged women in developing countries?

August 2008: What's the biggest killer of middle aged women in developing countries? The answer to that question may surprise you. Try it on a few of your friends and most will say "malaria, HIV or perhaps TB". The shocking reality is that it's cervical cancer.

It is the second most common cancer among women worldwide. In 2000, there were over 471 000 new cases diagnosed, and 288 000 deaths from cervical cancer worldwide (source: WHO). And many gynaecologists say that with changing lifestyles and the spread of the HPV virus, there's an explosion of cases ahead of us in the developing world. Yet there's a simple test called Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) that's a practical solution for developing countries as an alternative to smear (pap) tests. It's cheap and easy to do - with the right training. Here at Medical Aid Films we are working on our next animation to train nurses in this technique. We are hoping to have it ready for you to download for trainees from the end of September.

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