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Sofiat Akinola: Addressing the decline in Cervical Screening

Sofiat Akinola/LinkedIn

Dec 12, 2024, 15:42

Sofiat Akinola: Addressing the decline in Cervical Screening

Sofiat Akinola, Director, Health Policy and External Affairs at Roche, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“Addressing the Decline in Cervical Screening.

Cervical cancer is preventable, yet the number of women not attending their cervical screening is rising among women aged 30 to 44 in both the US and the UK. This trend highlights ongoing barriers such as stigma, misinformation, misconceptions, healthcare disparities, and limiting access to cervical screening and essential preventive care.

A recent NHS-UK report on screening rates resonated with me. It served as a reminder to encourage family and friends to prioritize their cervical screening—a small but significant step.

It is encouraging to see Belgium taking steps towards better prevention. Starting in January, women aged 30 to 64 will be invited to screenings every five years using the high-performance HPV test. This initiative aligns with practices already adopted in places like the US and UK, which have successfully introduced high-performance screening tests and self-sampling to improve access to screenings.

Why This Matters:

The WHO approves the HPV test, which is more effective than other methods.
With screening with high-performance test HPV test, self-sampling can be incorporated to make screenings more inclusive and accessible.
Help remove barriers for those with negative past experiences related to screenings and encourage more women to get screened – in regions like Flanders, Brussels, and Wallonia, where many avoid smear tests.

We can work together to ensure no woman or people with a cervix is left behind in the effort to eliminate cervical cancer.”