Women in Fiji are at the heart of renewed efforts to eliminate cervical cancer, as a sum of $100,000 was donated to the Fiji Cancer Society from the Bank of South Pacific (BSP)and BSP Life.
The donation marks a significant boost to national efforts aligned with the World Health Organisation’s global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030.
Speaking during the handover during the BSP Group's Customer Cocktail, Fiji Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer Belinda Chan says the contribution supports the three pillars set by the WHO in 2020 - vaccinating 90 percent of girls aged between nine and 14 years against the human papillomavirus (HPV), screening 70 percent of women aged between 30 and 59 at least once using HPV testing, and ensuring that 90 percent of women with pre-cancer and 90 percent of those with invasive cancer receive appropriate treatment and care.
Chan says the donation is an investment in systems that strengthens the diagnostic capacity.
She explained that enhanced diagnostic capability will allow for earlier identification and faster, more reliable diagnosis, leading to improved outcomes, reduced disease burden and more lives saved.
She says strengthening local diagnostic capacity also builds efficiency and sustainability within Fiji’s health system while reinforcing a commitment to equitable access to care.
Chan adds when women and families are protected from preventable diseases, they are empowered to contribute fully to education, employment and community life.
BSP Public Relations and Communications Specialist Salome Waqailiti says institutions endure because they evolve with purpose, and for BSP that purpose includes giving back to communities.
Waqailiti says prosperity is about more than financial performance.
She says the donation is to help purchase more Gen X machines that will enable on the spot testing, early diagnosis, and more timely treatment for those at risk of cancer.
Insert: When women are healthy - Waqailiti BSP PR
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