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Cervical cancer is one of the greatest threats to women’s health and in Aotearoa.
About 160 women develop cervical cancer each year and around 50 die from it. The rates double for Māori women.
Most types of cervical cancer are caused by the Human Papillomaviruses (HPV). If left undetected HPV can lead to cancer, including cervical cancer.
Regular screening can reduce the risk of developing cervical cancer by 90 percent. But significant barriers to screening mean that about 21 percent of NZ-European women and 34 percent Māori women do not attend regular screening.
Join the campaign for free cervical screening!
Whānau need their kuia, taua, māmā, whaea and tamāhine to flourish. No wāhine should ever get cervical cancer.
HPV self-testing, a highly effective, lifesaving technology that enables women to self-test for HPV.
In Budget 2021, the Government announced $53 Million investment towards a new National HPV Cervical Screening Programme which is due to launch in July 2023. Good news for wāhine across Aotearoa, but will it be available to everyone and at what cost?
When the new Cervical Screening Programme launches in July 2023, cost will remain a major barrier. This will be the only national health screening programme not fully funded.
To ensure costs of screening and follow-up tests are not barriers,Te Tātai Hauora o Hine, the National Centre for Women's Health Research Aotearoa, are supporting a petition calling for a fully funded, equitable screening programme. Become part of the māhi to eradicate cervical cancer in Aotearoa in your lifetime!
Sign the petition here – Freescreen.nz
Research Activism at the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aotearoa – Te Tātai Hauora o Hine
The Zonta Club of Wellington was honoured to host Professor Bev Lawton at our dinner in May. Professor Bev Lawton and her team of researchers at the National Centre for Women’s Health Research Aoteroa (NCWHRA)Te Tātai Hauora o Hine, have undertaken He Tapu Te Whare Tangata, a Kaupapa Māori research initiative to help eliminate preventable cervical cancer amongst Māori women through improved access to screening.
The study included a randomised controlled community trial that aimed to increase cervical screening amongst Māori women through the offer of HPV self-testing via clinics and community outreach.
A documentary crew followed the group of health experts and their mobile cervical testing unit to rural Central Otago to meet the women struggling to get the healthcare they need. Even with a new cervical screening programme arriving in July, one question remains: will it reach the people who need it the most.