New Zealand to make cervical screening free for all eligible women

WELLINGTON, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Cervical screening will be free for all eligible women aged 25 to 69 in New Zealand from March 1, 2027, the government said Tuesday.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said in a statement that an estimated 786,000 additional women would become eligible for free cervical screening under the policy.

Currently, about 55 percent of women eligible for cervical screening have to pay for an appointment, which can cost between 35 and more than 100 NZ dollars (about 21 to more than 59 U.S. dollars), the government said.

Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers, the statement said, noting that almost every case is caused by HPV, a common virus, which the screening test detects long before any cancer develops.

When cervical cancer is found early, about 91 percent of women survive, but survival falls to around 19 percent once the disease has spread, it said.

Minister for Women Nicola Grigg also released the New Zealand Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan 2026-2040, which aims to reduce cervical cancer to fewer than four cases per 100,000 women a year across all population groups by 2040.

The plan sets targets for 80 percent of women to be up to date with screening by 2030 and for 90 percent of young people to have received their first HPV vaccine dose by age 15 by 2035. Enditem