The DZIF Flex Fund “Optimizing molecular cervical screening algorithms for women living with HIV” aims to develop new test formats and diagnostic algorithms for improved cervical cancer screening in the context of HIV infection and works with the established AFRICOS Cohort Study. Established by the U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) in 2013, the multicentric AFRICOS is a systematic 15-year longitudinal cohort study of 4200 individuals - people living with HIV and of HIV-negative adults. The study is being conducted in 12 clinical sites in five geographically distinct HIV treatment and care programmes supported by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Nigeria.

Bringing together gynecologists, pathologists, and cytologists from Tanzania and Germany, the workshop provided theoretical background and hands-on training in visual inspection, colposcopy, and the collection of cervical samples, as well as in the preparation of cytology smears for Pap smear analysis and molecular HPV diagnostics. The workshop was conducted at the cervical cancer screening facilities of the META Women’s Hospital in Mbeya. In real-life scenarios, barriers to high-quality cervical cancer screening were identified and addressed. Together with U.S. colleagues from the MHRP, these clinical procedures are now being implemented in the study and continuously monitored to support robust identification of precancerous lesions within AFRICOS.

Bringing together trainees from four African countries with experts in the field of colposcopy and histo-cytological diagnostics, the workshop strengthened the capacity to identify precancerous lesions, a critical component for better early detection and improved patient outcomes.

Further information and AFRICOS partners (MHRP website)