The Cervical Cancer Elimination Project under Scale-Up Cervical Cancer Elimination through Secondary Strategies-Focusing on Asia Pacific (SUCCESS-FAP) officially commenced through a two-day Microplanning Session held on December 3–4, 2025 at Solina Beach and Nature Resort, Carles, with the participation of the pilot sites Carles, Estancia, and Lemery.
The event opened with the welcoming message of Maria Soccoro Quiñon, RN, MD who highlighted the significance of this initiative and the life-changing benefits it holds for women in the three pilot sites, emphasizing how improved screening, early detection, and timely treatment can prevent avoidable deaths. She also underscored that other regions and municipalities across the country look to the success of these pilot sites, as their progress will serve as a model for future expansion and replication.
The session was led by Cancer Warriors Foundation Inc. CEO Mrs. Carmen Auste, together with the CWFI staffs, who guided stakeholders through the planning process. Municipal Health Officers, Nurse Coordinators, Sangguniang Bayan members, Punong Barangays, Barangay Health Workers, school representatives, and other key stakeholders collaborated to craft a comprehensive master plan that will guide local implementation.
Supported by the Iloilo Provincial Health Office and the Cancer Warriors Foundation Inc., the initiative is anchored on achieving the cervical cancer elimination targets set for the three pilot site, which seek to cover a population of 17,178 women. The objectives include ensuring that 90% of girls are fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by age 15. In addition, the program aims for 70% of women to undergo screening with a high-performance test by age 30 to 49. Furthermore, it seeks to ensure that 90% of women diagnosed with cervical disease receive appropriate treatment.
The microplanning session included a breakout workshops in which each pilot MLGU—Lemery, Carles, and Estancia, worked independently to formulate strategic initiatives for program success, identify key activities to achieve national targets, and develop implementation timelines suited to their local contexts, with each municipality receiving supervision and guidance from designated Provincial Health Officers to ensure technical accuracy, alignment with national guidelines, and feasibility based on local capacities and challenges.
One of the highlight of the activity was the formal turnover of Thermal Ablation devices to the municipalities, received by Mayor Arnold T. Betita II (Carles), Mayor Ma. Angelica Bianca B. Requinto-Espinosa (Estancia), and Mayor Oscar C. Villegas Jr. (Lemery). These kits will allow women to receive treatment directly at their local health centers, bringing lifesaving services closer to communities, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas.
Lemery, Carles, and Estancia are among the three pilot municipalities in the Philippines and the entire Southeast Asia region selected for the SUCCESS–FAP program, implemented in partnership with Cancer Warriors Foundation Inc., Expertise France, UNITAID, DOH–Western Visayas, Iloilo PHO, and Western Visayas Medical Center.
The micro-planning session concluded by the presentation of the plan by each municipality Lemery, Carles, and Estancia showcasing their strategic initiatives, key activities, timelines, and anticipated challenges for SUCCESS–FAP, culminating in a productive and collaborative discussion where ideas, coordination, and insights from all participants came together to ensure the program’s success.
This united effort marks the beginning of a strengthened campaign to raise awareness that cervical cancer is preventable and with coordinated action, no woman should lose her life to a disease that can be avoided. The project reaffirms the commitment of the three municipalities to reach all women, both in upland and lowland communities, and ensure access to essential cervical health services.