Five Minutes With... Dr Maribel Almonte

27 August 2026

Research papers and global health strategies tell us a great deal about progress in cervical cancer prevention, but they don't always tell us about the people working to turn that progress into reality.

In our Five Minutes With… series, we step away from the data to get to know the people working to improve cancer prevention and early detection.

This week, we speak to Dr Maribel Almonte, whose career in cervical cancer prevention began in her home country of Peru and has since taken her into global efforts to improve access to HPV vaccination, cervical screening and treatment.

 

Maribel is a Peruvian epidemiologist and implementation scientist with extensive experience in cervical cancer prevention. Her career has spanned research and implementation across Latin America and internationally, including leading major roles at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and, most recently, at the World Health Organization. Her work focuses on translating evidence on HPV vaccination, screening and treatment into effective cervical cancer prevention programmes, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

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What first inspired you to work in cervical cancer prevention?

I am Peruvian, and cervical cancer incidence in Peru has been high for decades. I worked at the Peruvian National Cancer Institute for several years, where I led the cancer registry.

During that time, I saw first-hand the impact a cancer diagnosis could have on women and their families. With cervical cancer, that tragedy was often compounded by stigma and a sense of guilt imposed on women following their diagnosis.

Knowing that there were ways to prevent many of these advanced cancers, I felt I could not stay passive. I decided I wanted to do something to help change that reality.

We know that cervical cancer is largely preventable. What is the biggest challenge to making that prevention a reality globally?

We already have evidence-based interventions that can prevent cervical cancer: vaccination against HPV, cervical screening, and treatment of precancer and cancer.

There has been significant global progress in implementing HPV vaccination programmes. International initiatives such as Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance) have helped expand access, and immunisation programmes are already established in many low- and middle-income countries.

Screening is more complex and should start by ensuring that women who screen positive can receive treatment.

In many countries, there is not yet sufficient capacity to treat precancerous lesions or manage invasive cancers. Training healthcare professionals is essential, but training alone is not enough. It needs to be accompanied by access to treatment devices, consumables and appropriate follow-up.

This is one of the major challenges for screening initiatives in low- and middle-income countries. We need global mechanisms that support not only training, but also the ability to put that training into practice. This would help countries establish successful screening programmes, with access to quality-assured HPV tests and the capacity to treat and follow up women who screen positive.

What's one misconception about HPV that you'd like to dispel?

The idea that HPV equals cancer.

HPV is a very common virus that is usually passed through sexual contact. In most people, it clears on its own. Persistent HPV infection is only the beginning of a chain of events that may eventually lead to cancer.

Importantly, there is time between HPV infection and the development of cancer in which we can intervene and prevent that cancer from occurring.

There have been huge advances in cervical cancer prevention. Which developments excite you most?

We already have several game changers: single-dose HPV vaccination, quality-assured HPV self-sampling and ablative treatments that can destroy precancerous cells before they develop into cancer.

We are also beginning to see artificial intelligence incorporated into devices to support diagnosis, and that will undoubtedly have a role to play. But we already have many of the basic tools we need.

For me, some of the most exciting developments are happening with mobile technology and digital health. Mobile apps are increasingly being used to collect data as interventions are implemented, but their potential goes much further.

Mobile apps can support women throughout the screening pathway, providing information, recording results, prompting follow-up and helping healthcare providers identify women who still need further investigation or treatment. In settings where women can be lost to follow-up between screening and treatment, they could act as patient-navigation tools, helping ensure that a positive screening result actually leads to appropriate care.

They can also empower women. By giving women accessible information about HPV, screening and the care they should receive, digital tools can help them advocate for good-quality screening and treatment for themselves, their families and their communities.

If you could change one thing about cervical cancer prevention tomorrow, what would it be?

I would empower every woman to demand access to one good HPV test in her lifetime.

 

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Cervical cancer prevention has undergone extraordinary change, from HPV vaccination and HPV-based screening to new approaches to treatment and digital health. As Maribel highlights, however, having effective tools is only part of the solution. Ensuring that women can access HPV vaccination, high-quality screening, follow-up and treatment — wherever they live — is what will ultimately turn those advances into cancers prevented.

 

We hope you've enjoyed getting to know Maribel and hearing her perspective. Look out for more Five Minutes With… conversations with colleagues and collaborators working across cancer prevention and early detection.

 

Know someone you'd like to hear from in a future edition of Five Minutes With…? We'd love to hear your suggestions.

 

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