World First Cervical Screening Program Launched in Malaysia

A new integrated technology-driven screening approach from Australia’s VCS Foundation (VCSF) and Universiti Malaya (UM) is accelerating the drive towards cervical cancer elimination in Malaysia.

Removing Obstacles to Cervical Screening (ROSE) is a human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA test and the world’s first cervical screening program featuring self-sampling. The digital health platform is easily configured to suit specific Policy and Program requirements, scalable and flexible to support all Malaysian women, and easy to integrate with government and other digital health platforms.

The program will enable women to get tested for cervical cancer in the comfort of their own homes.

Launched on 14 January 2019, the program will help many women overcome the barriers to screening, encouraging more women to willingly participate in screening in a timely manner. Healthcare professionals will be able to both register and deliver the results of the screening to women through their mobile phones.

Dr Wan Azizah, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister noted at the program launch that despite the country’s National Immunisation Program – which provides free HPV vaccinations to 13-year old girls – cervical screening among Malaysian women falls far below the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) target of 70%.

“We have only managed to achieve a rate of 12.8%, a far cry from the WHO’s target. The challenge is getting women to come forward to be screened,” she says.

A memorandum of understanding between UM and VCSF was signed by UM Medical Faculty Dean Professor Datuk Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman and VCSF executive director Associate Professor Marion Saville to establish a not-for-profit joint venture to enable the implementation of ROSE as a cervical screening programme in Malaysia.

Further information on Australia’s renewed National Cervical Screening Program is available at the cancer screening website.