Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide.
Almost all cases are caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Girls and women can receive a vaccine against the strains of HPV, which cause around 70 per cent of cancers.
The disease kills thousands of women globally every year, with 85 per cent of those deaths in developing countries.
While the immunisation is offered rountinely in wealthier countries, Laos in South East Asia is one of the first developing nations to benefit from a new vaccination programme.
BBC's medical correspondent Fergus Walsh reports.
