Australian Government funds the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer for cervical cancer elimination initiatives

The Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer is delighted to receive funding from the Australian Government for two important initiatives that will help Australia eliminate this preventable disease by 2035.

Today, which is the inaugural World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day, Minister for Health the Hon Greg Hunt MP announced that the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer has been engaged to develop a National Cervical Cancer Elimination Strategy by the end of 2022.

The project aligns to the World Health Organization's (WHO) strategy to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem worldwide by the end of the century. The WHO strategy sets out a ‘triple-intervention’ approach, which includes vaccination, screening and treatment targets to place all countries on the path toward elimination by 2030.

Prof Saville said: "The Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer has been a major contributor to cervical cancer and infectious disease prevention in Australia through public health services supporting excellence in screening and vaccination for over fifty years. We are proud to support the Australian Government to develop a collaborative national plan with a strong focus on addressing current inequities so that Australia can achieve elimination of this preventable disease for everyone”.

In addition, the Australian Government announced additional funding to provide operational support for the Compass Trial, jointly led by the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer and the Daffodil Centre (a Joint Venture of Cancer Council NSW and The University of Sydney). This is Australia’s largest clinical trial with over 76,000 participants. It will provide crucial data to inform the optimum screening pathway for Australia’s National Cervical Screening Program in future, with ever greater numbers of people who have received the HPV vaccine ageing into the screening program as they turn 25.

Formerly VCS Foundation Ltd, the leading cervical cancer prevention body in Australia recently changed its name to the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer to reflect the organisation’s primary purpose and to achieve the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem in our region.

The three divisions within the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer include VCS Pathology, Digital Health and Population Health. An expert multidisciplinary team of staff across these divisions deliver laboratory and medical education services, establishment and operation of cancer screening and vaccination registries, policy and program implementation and advice, and conducting world-leading research and data analysis.

Professor Saville said: “I would like to thank the Australian Government for their ongoing support. This funding represents a major and important contribution to the health of women and people with a cervix across Australia. We are looking forward to working in partnership with stakeholders across the health sector and community to continue building on Australia’s considerable successes in preventing cervical cancer.”