Malaysian Government Shows Interest in the Cervical Cancer Prevention Pilot Project Implemented by FRHAM

The National Population and Family Development Board, Malaysia (LPPKN) which sits under the umbrella of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development showed great interest in the Federation of Reproductive Health Associations Malaysia’s (FRHAM) work on cervical cancer prevention.

The interest sparked ever since their respective representatives, Dr. Mohd. Azizuddin bin Mohd. Yussof from LPPKN, and Dr. Zakiah bt Mohd Said from the Ministry of Health attended the association’s advocacy meeting on the Human Papilloma Virus (HPVDNA) Screening of Cervical Cancer project for the underserved women in Malaysia project which was implemented in Negeri Sembilan and Johor in 2018.

The Ministry had approached FRHAM and its state Member Associations (MAs) and stated their willingness to support the project by providing HPVDNA testing kits to FRHAM’s state MA clinics in order to sustain and strengthen cervical cancer prevention measures in Malaysia.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Health has also acknowledged the positive outcome of this pilot project and has requested that the statistics and technical reports be shared in order to enable further analysis and to be used as a reference in their planning of the national cervical cancer prevention strategy.

This pilot project is a one-year project funded by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) under its Scale-up Fund for incorporating new programmatic or technological innovations for either screening or treatment to improve the quality of cervical cancer services in its Member Associations globally. The project implemented the new screening method of HPVDNA and increased the access to cervical cancer screening and referrals for the underserved women who tested positive. 

With the hard work of volunteers along with the sustained efforts of FRHAM and its two state MAs, this pilot project has managed to raise cervical cancer awareness among marginalised communities within a short span of time. It is estimated to have reached more than 6000 women and 502 of these women underwent HPVDNA screening throughout this project.