63% of the women aged between 25 and 61 in Moldova did the Pap test to prevent cervical cancer in 2020, as opposed to only 36% in 2018. Most of the women who did the Pap test are from southern Moldova, from families with average financial situation, says the post-intervention study “Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices on Cervical Cancer Prevention in the Republic of Moldova”. The survey was conducted under the coordination of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, with the support of UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) within the ‘Cervical Cancer Prevention in the Republic of Moldova’ Project, IPN reports.
A similar study carried out two years ago showed more than half of the women of the target segment never did a Pap test because of lack of time, fear or lack of information about the screening places. This year’s study shows the situation has improved in a number of respects. The level of awareness of cervical cancer prevention among women aged between 25 and 61 increased. 62% of them knew about the Pap test in 2020, as against 47% in 2018.
Also, 71% of the women who know about the Pap test also know that this can be done free after going to the family doctor. The women aged between 36 and 45 know more about the availability of the Pap test, as opposed to women from other age brackets.
Marina Golovaci, secretary of state at the Ministry of Health, said cancer is actually a major problem at national and global levels, with cervical cancer ranking third by the new cases recorded among women and first among women aged between 15 and 44. About 300 new cases of cervical cancer have been logged annually in Moldova during the last few years. As many as 170 women die annually because of cervical cancer. A woman dies from this disease every two days.
“We support the actions to prevent cervical cancer as this is a disease that represents an enormous emotional and financial burden on women and their families,” said Nigina Abaszada, UNFPA Resident Representative in Moldova. “The study shows the level of awareness of the necessity of doing a Pap test has increased. We are glad that today we can speak about a positive tendency in the prevention of cervical cancer in the Republic of Moldova, which is due to the efficient cooperation between all the involved players and the public information campaign “Stay Healthy! Do the Pap-test” that urged all the women to do the prevention test. In continuation, we need to step up our efforts so as to reach zero cases of cervical cancer.”
Tatiana Zatyk, division head at the Ministry of Health, said the Pap smear test and the relevant examinations are covered by the mandatory health insurance program and are free for the entire population, including for medically uninsured persons.
