Cambodia faces a critical public health challenge around noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) which accounted for 64% of all deaths in2018. Among the NCD-related deaths, cancer was responsible for 14%. Notably, cervical cancer is becoming a growing public health concern – the mortality rate associated with cervical cancer increased from 10% in 2018 to 13.4% in2022, and women aged 15 to 49 across Cambodia are the most affected by cervical cancer. According to the Cambodia Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) 2021–2022, only 15% of women in this age group had been screened for cervical cancer. In December 2023, during the kick-off of the D2P initiative, an inter-ministerial working group selected key policy topics, one of which was the promotion of cervical cancer eradication to save women’s lives. With support from the DIP, the Ministry of Women's Affairs (MoWA) and the Ministry of Health (MOH)developed evidence-based policy briefs. The cervical cancer policy brief included recommendations on expanding screening services and HPV vaccinationprograms, broadening education campaigns, and promoting self-sampling methods. The policy brief dissemination preceded the mid-term review of the Cambodian Health Equity and Quality Improvement Project (H-EQIP2) project and informed MOH’s ongoingefforts and decisions around cervical cancer screening, through successful stakeholder engagement.

VIA has been included as part of a national scale-up of NCD services that was officially launched across all referral hospitals and health centres in April 2025. The launch event was presided over by the Minister of Health, H.E. Prof. Chheng Ra.  The MOH will also introduce HPV testing, the gold standard screening test, in six provinces and establish a technical working group to advise on HPV testing. These outcomes represent a concrete step forward in improving cervical cancer prevention and screening in Cambodia.