Fiji develops comprehensive screening policy to fight cancer

Fiji's Ministry of Health and Medical Services has set a regional benchmark in the fight against cervical cancer by developing a comprehensive Cervical Cancer Screening Policy.

The policy which was launched in Suva on Friday by Minister for Health and Medical Services Jone Usamate, and the Australian High Commission's Counsellor for Development Cooperation, Fiji and Tuvalu, Joanne Choe, would provide routine cervical screening every three years for women aged 30-49 years.

The target of the Australian-funded Fiji Health Sector Support Program (FHSSP) supported policy is to screen 80 percent of women in this age group over a three-year period.

Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of death among women in Fiji and the Ministry's interventions to address the issue over the past 20 years has culminated in the development of a comprehensive and integrated approach to preventing, screening and treating cervical cancer.

Reports on FijiLive news website Friday said prevention was the most effective way to reduce cancer rates and the policy included the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine introduced into Fiji's immunization schedule in 2013 with FHSSP support.

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer so parents and guardians of girls in Class 8 are urged to provide consent for their daughters to be vaccinated.

The policy also includes the different screening methods available in Fiji at various levels of the health system. This includes screening through visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) which can take place at the primary health care level, providing women with better access to screening and cost-effective and timely treatment of any identified pre-cancerous lesions.

To support VIA screening, the Australian government handed over six cryotherapy machines to the ministry at the policy launch.

Fiji recorded 9,412 cancer cases from year 2000 to 2013 and 7, 809 of them have died from the disease within the same period.

National Adviser for Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr Isimeli Tukana, said the only way Fiji could decrease the number of cancer reports in the country was for people to go for screening.

Tukana said if people visited their health centres on a regular basis for screening, they can detect the disease quickly.