Within the framework of the annual Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (CCPW) the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC), the Health and Social Services Department under Tbilisi Municipality, the National Screening Center and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Georgia, on January 27, 2015 held a joint press conference on launching of the organized cervical cancer screening programme in the conference hall of NCDC.

According to global evidence, approximately 2/3 of the cervical cancer cases in screened populations are due to poor recruitment in the screening programme and follow-up. Primary Health Care providers have the closest proximity to women in the screening target population and are therefore in the best position to influence screening attendance and follow-up compliance. To gradually increase the Cervical Cancer Screening Programme coverage the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs with technical support of UNFPA Georgia Country Office, has recently launched an organized screening pilot-programme.

Lela Bakradze, Assistant Representative of UNFPA / Georgia Country Office:

“It has been clearly established that population-based, organised cervical cancer screening programmes can prevent up to 80% of cases. Taking into consideration high costs associated with cancer treatment, support to effective prevention and early diagnosis is considered to be the only viable strategy in the middle income countries like Georgia. The aim of our partnership with stakeholders is to provide support in designing and gradual introduction of population-based organized cervical cancer screening in Georgia and thus contribute to the implementation of the National Cancer Screening Strategy.”

In December 2014, organized cervical cancer screening pilot-programme was launched in Gurjaani, Kakheti region. In 2015 it is planned to develop and gradually introduce the pilot-programme in Tbilisi as well.

Introduction of the organized model of cervical cancer screening will significantly contribute to increasing the quality and effectiveness of the national screening programme. The adopted model will enable introduction of population-based organized screening programmes for other cancer localizations, as well.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women worldwide, after breast cancer, with about 500 000 new cases diagnosed and over 250 000 deaths every year.

The Cervical Cancer Prevention Week was launched by the European Cervical Cancer Association (ECCA) in 2007 to raise awareness of the importance of cervical cancer prevention by cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination. Since the launch of the CCPW, there have been hundreds of thousands of events undertaken across Europe.