Building research capacity through programme development and research implementation in resource-limited settings - the Ipabalele study protocol: observational cohort studies determining the effect of HIV on the natural history of cervical cancer in Botswana.

Introduction: The global burden of cancer continues to increase in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Botswana, a middle-income country in SSA, has the second highest prevalence of HIV worldwide and has seen an increase in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cervical cancer over the last decade in the setting of improved survival of HIV-infected women. There is an urgent need to understand more clearly the causes and consequences of HPV-associated cervical cancer in the setting of HIV infection.