LUNDU: Women aged 35 to 65 who are sexually active are strongly encouraged to undergo early cervical cancer screening to reduce infection rates and prevent premature deaths.
Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri emphasised that early detection is crucial as the disease remains treatable and curable when identified early.
Her ministry continues to intensify awareness efforts on women’s health, particularly cervical cancer, through nationwide screening programmes and education campaigns.
These programmes are continuously implemented while seeking additional budget allocations to expand access to rural areas via mobile screening initiatives.
The mobile initiative allows residents to perform self-screening similar to a DIY COVID-19 test.
Nancy shared these remarks after attending the Jelajah MADANI Rakyat programme at the Pusat Latihan Kenegaraan Sampadi, held in conjunction with National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations.
She noted that Sarawak has recorded the highest participation rate since the ministry launched the human papillomavirus self-screening programme at the end of 2023.
Response in several other states remains low despite better access, particularly in urban areas.
This indicates that awareness is still lacking, making it important to encourage women to utilise the provided facilities.
Ministry statistics from 2019 to 2024 show that 45,313 women in Sarawak have undergone HPV screening tests.
Nationwide, a total of 162,581 women have participated in the screening during this period. – Bernama
