APEC Health Week meeting to discuss policy “Elimination of HPV Virus and Cervical Cancer” 38% of cases and 35% of deaths are in the APEC economic zone, brainstorming guidelines for prevention, screening and treatment measures following the coronavirus disruption. Thailand rushes to find HPV vaccine retrospectively for female grade 5 students following 2 years of hiatus
Today (August 22, 2022) at the Millennium Hilton Bangkok, Dr. Somsak Ankasil, Director-General of the Medical Department, said that the first day of the APEC Health Week meeting in the followingnoon Policy discussions on the eradication of HPV and cervical cancer were held. The reason why this issue was brought up to discuss at the APEC Health Week meeting was because of cervical cancer. It is one of the most common cancers in women around the world. Each year, there are regarding 600,000 new cases and 34 hundred thousand deaths, of which 38 percent of cervical cancer cases were recorded in the APEC economic zone and 35 percent of the deaths were recorded by the meeting. Today is the exchange of operational experience, capacity building. and support for policy driving to eliminate barriers to protection cervical cancer screening patient care
Either in the curable stage or in the best late stage including listening to problems and obstacles in the operation and solutions This will enable economic zone members to implement the First APEC Roadmap to Promote Sustainable Economic Advanced for Women. Women through Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control), developed from 2014-2017 and in line with the World Health Organization’s policy to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.
Dr. Somsak said For Thailand, there is a National Cancer Prevention and Control Plan 2018 – 2022, which covers cervical cancer from prevention, screening and treatment. It is currently included in the operational plans of all health districts across the country. In terms of prevention, we include cervical cancer vaccination or HPV vaccine into the country’s immunization program. and included in the national drug list
Both 2-strain and 4-strain vaccines are administered to female grade 5 students across the country, which each year has regarding 400,000 people injected before having sex. The injection has been started since 2017, which studies have shown that it is cost-effective and has high preventive and long-lasting effectiveness.
As for the screening, there is a Pap smear screening guideline, which since the beginning of 2022, the Ministry of Public Health. Organize a cervical cancer screening program by collecting HPV Self Sampling. After collecting the samples, they are inserted into the syringe according to the prescribed procedures and can be sent to the participating hospitals for examination and reporting. next test result making it unnecessary to go to the hospital for medical personnel to collect samples which many women are embarrassed regarding Fear of vaginal insertion or do not want to waste time not going to check Therefore, it is a guideline that causes more screening tests.
As for the treatment, the doctor will consider it according to the stage. with both surgical treatment chemotherapy radiation therapy which can be disbursed according to the benefits
“At the meeting, there were discussions regarding cervical cancer prevention measures that were stopped during the COVID-19 outbreak and how to prepare for continued operations in the event of an epidemic like this once more. During the past two years, COVID-19 has affected the production and supply of the HPV vaccine once morest cervical cancer. As a result, it is unable to provide injections for girls in grade 5 in Thailand, a total of more than 8 hundred thousand people, but this year we can supply the HPV vaccine to inject regarding 4 hundred thousand female grade 5 students. and is in the process of procuring for retroactive vaccination for the past 2 years,” said Dr. Somsak.
