LUNDU: Women aged 35 to 65 who are sexually active are encouraged to undergo early cervical cancer screening.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri (pic) said this is to reduce infection rates and prevent premature deaths.
She added that early detection is crucial, as the disease can still be treated and cured if identified at an early stage.
“The ministry continues to intensify efforts to raise awareness of women’s health, particularly cervical cancer, through nationwide screening programmes and education campaigns.
“We are continuously implementing these programmes while seeking additional budget allocations to expand access to rural areas through the mobile screening initiative, which allows residents to perform self-screening similar to the Covid-19 test,” she said.
Nancy said this after attending the Jelajah Madani Rakyat programme held in conjunction with the National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations at Pusat Latihan Kenegaraan Sampadi yesterday, Bernama reported.
Nancy said that since her ministry launched the human papillomavirus (HPV) self-screening programme at the end of 2023, Sarawak has recorded the highest participation rate so far.
“However, the response in several other states remains low, despite better access, particularly in urban areas.
“This indicates that awareness is still lacking.
“Therefore, it is important for us to encourage women to make use of the facilities that have been provided,” she said.
According to statistics from the ministry, from 2019 to 2024, a total of 45,313 women in Sarawak went through HPV screening tests, while nationwide, 162,581 women had participated in the screening.
