Recent advocacy for cervical cancer prevention in Indonesia has led to a dramatic increase in the visibility of this cancer and the possibilities for prevention. Cervical cancer presents an enormous health burden for Indonesia, which has among the highest cervical cancer mortality rates in the world. Each day 26 Indonesian women die of cervical cancer and 58 women are diagnosed with it.  Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), a very common sexually transmitted infection. In 2015, 90 million Indonesian women aged 15 and older were at risk of developing cervical cancer.

Advocacy for cervical cancer prevention has been championed by community-based organisations and leaders from clinical, academic and corporate backgrounds, most visibly through Koalisi Indonesia Cegah Kanker Serviks (KICKS). KICKS have leveraged the support of celebrities and businesses, utilising social and popular media to raise awareness about cervical cancer and the need for prevention and early detection. These advocacy efforts herald a new era in the politicization of the right to health in Indonesia, of particular importance considering the lack of coordination and leadership on this issue by the Indonesian Government.

This new era of health advocacy is both commendable and timely, however we also analyse the limitations and silences of this public discourse on cervical cancer prevention, which focuses on biomedical solutions. The social causes of HPV infection and cervical cancer, such as gendered and socioeconomic inequalities, and health system deficits, are overlooked when purely biomedical strategies are the focus of health advocacy.