KUCHING, Feb 19: Sarawak is on track to achieve the national target of 70 percent coverage for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) screening among women aged 30 to 65 by 2030.
Deputy Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Dr. Sim Kui Hian, said that the target encompasses approximately 714,800 women within the age group.
“We aim to achieve this by 2030, but I want to emphasise here that we can do it, but they need to step forward because we cannot go to every house,” he said.
He spoke to reporters during a press conference at the Officiating Ceremony of the 2024 Gynecological and Cytopathological Practice, here today.
Dr. Sim who is also the state’s Minister of Public Health, Housing, and Local Government disclosed that the state is also in a transitional phase to offer HPV DNA testing in addition to conventional Pap smear and liquid-based cytology methods.
“We are striving to achieve at least 70 percent screening with high-performance tests. At present, the use of conventional cytology-based smear or liquid is about 70 percent,” he added.
However, Dr. Sim noted that the state faces several challenges in making these changes, including a shortage of expertise.
“Sarawak has only about 850 medical laboratory technologists, with only about 20 of them qualified as screening cytologists. In addition, we also need pathologists,” revealed Dr. Sim.
Also present were the State Pathologist, Dr. Adam Malik Ismail, and the President of the International Academy of Pathology in Singapore, Dr. Yeo Yen Ching. – TVS
