Cervical Cancer Screening for women in Kosovo

Dear friends of AMC,

Since the introduction of the cervical cancer screening program in 2016 until 2018, around 9000 women were screened for cervical cancer in Prishtina, Prizren, Mitrovica and Peja municipalities, noting that some of these women came for the testing from surrounding municipalities such as Obiliq, Vushtrri, Fushë Kosovë, and Besiana.

Increasing awareness about the availability of the screening program have been realized through the launch of an invitation system via SMS messages to women between the ages of 21 to 65 in Prishtina, Prizren, Mitrovica and Peja municipalities. Furthermore, efforts to raise awareness have been achieved through activities such as lectures in schools, public institutions, with marginalized communities and media presence through TV, radio, and online platforms. In order to continue the project’s sustainability, capacity building training regarding project development and implementation has been continuously provided to committee members of the program. There has been continuous cooperation between primary and tertiary healthcare levels, specifically between family medicine centers and the Institute of Pathology at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo through the development of a constant quality improvement plan that has resulted in the assessment and identification of gaps within the Institute of Pathology through the re-testing of Pap test samples.

Continuing this program will contribute to its ongoing success and further expand its benefits to other municipalities and women in the future. The need for the program to expand to other municipalities is evident due to the fact that out of the 2245 women who were screened in 2019, 180 of them came from municipalities outside of the program. It will also contribute to a national scale-up of cervical cancer screening, placing the issue at the forefront of national healthcare issues that can be adequately addressed in Kosovo.

In 2021, our aim is to increase the quality and capacity of cervical cancer screenings in Prishtina, Prizren, Mitrovica and Peja municipalities. Therefore, continuing capacity building training for healthcare professionals on how to take a Pap smear is necessary to achieve both higher quality and capacity, particularly for family medicine physicians who require the right to administer the test. Within this capacity building training is also the preparation for healthcare professionals on usage of the e-PapTest application that digitalizes administrative information and statistics, further enhancing the quality of the program. Continuing support to the present relative municipalities will further consolidate the program as a sustainable initiative and serve as a benchmark for future implementation of the program in other municipalities. With the success of the program in the four aforementioned municipalities, our aim is to introduce the program in the municipality of Gjilan and Dragash, which require laboratory equipment and material for reading and producing results.

To achieve greater awareness of the “Cervical Cancer Screening Program” with the intention of raising the number of women tested, continuing advocacy activities such as classes, lectures, and media outreach with relevant stakeholders is required in coordination with increasing the capacity of the FMC’s. In this way, the ability to handle a greater number of visits for testing will grow in parallel with the effort of increasing the incoming number of visits.

Thank you all for your support and your donations.