FEATURE STORY
THE HPV VACCINE: Standing Up for Women Against Cervical Cancer in Singapore
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n May 2018, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General made an important call for the world to commit to a total eradication of cervical cancer(1). In a timely move towards WHO’s goal, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on 6 March 2019, the launch of the free Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for Secondary 1 girls in national schools. Singapore now stands alongside 50 other countries, such as Australia, Canada, Finland,
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by NCIS
Sweden, Malaysia and the United Kingdom in the global fight against cervical cancer. Along with this announcement, MOH has also introduced a more sensitive cervical cancer screening tool to detect pre-cancerous cervical lesions. The HPV DNA test will be the new national cervical cancer screening strategy for women aged between 30 and 69 years old.
