[The timeline of the screening and treatment strategy of intraepithelial neoplasia of the uterine cervix adopted in Morocco]

In Morocco, the purpose of the National Cancer Prevention and Control Plan (PNPCC) is to decrease the incidence, mortality, and morbidity attributable to cervical cancer (CC), including the general objective which is to improve women´s care by setting up an organized system for screening, early diagnosis and treatment of this disease, and as operational objectives an: 1) achievement of at least 30% of the annual coverage rate by cervical cancer (CC) screening; 2) achievement of at least 80% of the rate of participation in CC screening per screening cycle; 3) achievement of 100% of the treatment rate for precancerous lesions screened within the framework of the program. CC screening concerns all women aged 30 to 49 years old. Women who have already had CC and pregnant women from the 8th week of amenorrhea until the 6th week postpartum are excluded from the program. The screening test currently used is the naked eye inspection with acetic acid or visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), which will be followed by a colposcopy exam and biopsy if a precancerous lesion is confirmed. The VIA is carried out at the level of urban and rural health centers, by a trained health professional. Knowing that the pap-smear test was widely used before. Thermo coagulation, also called: cold coagulation, is currently the main treatment for intraepithelial lesions (LIE) that are eligible for this treatment, and finally the national program has introduced anti-HPV vaccination within the national vaccination program (NPI).

Human papillomavirus vaccination in view of the National Cancer Control Plan 2020-2029 in Morocco

In Morocco, cervical cancer represents a major public health problem. It ranks second, after breast cancer in Moroccan women, in terms of incidence and mortality. Each year, more than 3,300 new cases and nearly 2,500 deaths are recorded. A Moroccan national program to fight against cervical cancer (CC) based on the practice of visual inspection after application of acetic acid was set up in 2010, allowing screening and possibly of immediate treatment of premalignant lesions of the cervix. In September 2022, a partnership circular between the Ministry of Health and Social Protection (MSPS) and the Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports was launched. it announces that the MSPS will integrate the HPV vaccine using the quadrivalent vaccine into the Moroccan National Immune Program (PNI), the vaccination will be aimed to 11-year-old girls, mainly those in school, who will receive two doses separated by at least a period of 6 months.