[Source: Ministry of Health/ Facebook]

The Ministry of Health has partnered with the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales in Australia to extend human papillomavirus testing and treatment for women in the region.

The Kirby Institute has conducted training sessions with Ministry of Health staff, focusing on enhancing skill sets in self-collection, specimen analysis using GeneXpert machines, and the application of thermal ablation devices.

The introduced procedures are less invasive than conventional Pap smear tests, yield quicker results, and offer high accuracy.

[Source: Ministry of Health/ Facebook]

The training initiative and implementation play a critical role in advancing Fiji’s strategy towards the eradication of cervical cancer.

HPV testing serves as the core standard for detection and can enable early identification of cervical cancer, which ranks as the second most prevalent cancer among Fijian women.