Addis Ababa, Ethiopia +251 92 012 4183 cancer.prev.ethio@gmail.com

Early detection

Rural and underserved communities

Ethiopia intends to deliver cervical cancer services within primary health care. WHO AFRO recorded that intention in January 2026. The Health Extension Program is part of it, with health extension workers at health posts and at kebele level. That is the structure that already reaches households. Screening is offered when a woman presents rather than by invitation (opens in a new tab). So at a health post or health centre, the first step is to ask whether it is available. If it is not, ask which facility nearest to you offers it.

Key facts

  • Screening coverage among Ethiopian women aged 30–49 was 4% ever screened in 2019. 3% had been screened within the previous five years (WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator NCD_CXCA_SCREENED_WITHIN_TIMEPERIOD). Those screenings used VIA, which the 2030 target of 70% does not count, so against that target the position is closer to zero than to 4%.
  • Eighty-seven primary health care facilities were equipped under a donor-funded programme. WHO was procuring 30 additional thermal ablation machines as of November 2025. Both figures are from WHO AFRO’s campaign launch release of that month.
  • In a month-long campaign across six regions from 7 November 2025, 275,607 women were screened against a target of 267,662 (opens in a new tab). Of 9,882 pre-cancerous lesions found, about 7,836 were treated at the same visit — roughly four in five.
  • WHO AFRO recorded in November 2025 that more than 80% of Ethiopian cervical cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage (opens in a new tab). It attributes this to screening access, awareness and socioeconomic barriers. The figure describes cases that reached a health facility, not every woman with the disease.
  • Out-of-pocket payment was 46% of Ethiopian health expenditure in 2023 (WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator GHED_OOPSCHE_SHA2011).

What happened when screening was actively offered

The November 2025 campaign ran across Addis Ababa, Amhara, Central Ethiopia, Oromia, Sidama and South Ethiopia. It had external logistical support. Alongside the screening itself, awareness messaging reached 1,036,222 people. Community mobilisation reached 637,149 women. Both counts are WHO AFRO’s (opens in a new tab), reported by the campaign itself rather than measured independently.

Partners put the annual requirement for reaching the 2030 targets at about 2.6 million women screened, in WHO AFRO’s closing release of 15 January 2026. The campaign delivered roughly a tenth of one year’s requirement — a CPR – Ethiopia calculation from those two figures.

How the HPV vaccination campaigns reached girls

The vaccination programme has a delivery method on the record. Ethiopia’s campaigns ran over four consecutive days at fixed and temporary posts in schools. Girls not in school were reached through outreach and fixed posts. Teachers and community mobilisers did the preparation beforehand.

Two sources report different coverage figures for the same year. WHO’s estimate of coverage of the 9–14 target cohort was 51% in 2025 (WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator SDGHPVRECEIVED). Ethiopia’s own administrative reporting recorded 96.0% first-dose coverage for 2025 (WHO immunization data, indicator HPV_FEM1). Both sit in WHO systems, and both are given here.

Tigray was left out of the 2023 national campaign. WHO AFRO recorded that as being due to competing priorities. A catch-up from 15 August 2023 allocated 75,037 doses across 76 woredas in six zones (opens in a new tab). It excluded the Western zone and some woredas recorded as inaccessible.

What this means in Ethiopia

For a woman living a long way from a hospital, two routes exist. One is the health post or health centre she can reach. The other is a campaign, when one runs in her region. Both are worth asking about at any visit, because neither will call her in.

The 2025 campaign is the clearest indication of what one journey can achieve where the service is set up for it. About four in five of the pre-cancerous lesions found were treated at the same visit. Where same-visit treatment is not available, a second journey is needed. That is why it is worth asking in advance.

What you can do

  • Ask at any facility you attend whether cervical screening is offered, and if not, which facility nearest to you offers it. Where to get screened sets out the questions in full.
  • Ask what a visit and any treatment will cost before travelling. Out-of-pocket payment was 46% of health expenditure in 2023 (WHO Global Health Observatory, indicator GHED_OOPSCHE_SHA2011).
  • Ask whether treatment can be given at the same visit. Where it can, one journey does both. Where it cannot, a second journey is needed. Knowing that in advance lets you plan for it.
  • If a girl in your household missed the 2024–25 vaccination campaigns, ask at the health post whether a dose is available for her now. Ask also whether a further round is expected. Those are the two questions that decide what happens next for her.
  • If you have noticed a symptom, do not wait for a campaign or an outreach visit. A symptom is a reason to be assessed now, whatever your screening history.