Description of Collaborative Activity: |
On August 24-25, 2017, the US National Cancer Institute’s Center for Global Health (NCI/CGH), working in collaboration with the US Departments of State and Health and Human Services, led a Policy Dialogue and Workshop on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer Control during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The primary goal of this dialogue was to jointly promote strategies for implementation of the APEC Roadmap to Promote Sustainable Economic Advancement for Women through Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control (2016-2021), a guiding document approved by the APEC Health Working Group in early 2017 with a key goal of enhancing knowledge exchange opportunities. Specifically, this practical workshop focused on current evidence of cost-effectiveness and the investment benefits of HPV vaccination programs as well as how to collect and use data from pilot and large-scale programs to inform future decision-making. In follow-up, the US NCI led a one-year monthly Project ECHO educational program for APEC economies in calendar year 2018. Upon evaluation of this program, the decision was made to develop two parallel Project ECHO educational programs, one focused on southeast Asia, led by Australia, and one to be conducted in Spanish, coordinated by the Pan-American Health Organization, the regional office for the Americas, and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. In addition, plans are underway for a follow-up workshop to be held in Malaysia in August 2020. |
