Cervical cancer prevention and the Millennium Development Goals

The advent of new technologies such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and HPV DNA tests -along with new insights into the appropriate use of low-resource technologies such as visual inspection of the cervix and treatment of cervical lesions with cryotherapy -have increased optimism about the potential for effective disease control in low-resource settings. Nevertheless, it is also important to ask ourselves how new health initiatives contribute, or fail to contribute, to major global undertakings such as achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).