Various organisations will on Wednesday launch the Umdlavuza “Pap Smear” Drive at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban as part of a new campaign aimed at raising awareness and promoting screening tests for cervical cancer.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the KZN Department of Health, the Cancer Association of South Africa, and other stakeholders will launch the drive.
Chairperson of the campaign, and Head of UKZN’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Professor Motshedisi Sebitloane said regular Pap smears can prevent 90 percent of cervical cancer cases.
Sebitloane said the launch will be taking place at the 38th National Congress of the South African Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
As part of the campaign, free Pap smear screenings will be provided for all eligible women, at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital on April 21.
“Eligible women are those who have never had a Pap smear, and are 30 years old and above, or had their last Pap smear more than 10 years ago, are HIV infected, and were last screened 3 years ago or not at all,” Sebitloane said.
Sebitloane said the team of medical specialists involved in the campaign were hoping to set a record for the most Pap smears performed under one roof in one day.
