The memorandum of cooperation to set up the cervical cancer screening program within the Municipality of Prishtina is signed

10.06.2016

This memorandum of cooperation enables the pilot of cervical cancer screening program within Municipality of Prishtina, as part of the National Program for Cancer Control in Kosovo  

Prishtina, 10 June 2016-

We are happy to announce that we have signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Municipality of Prishtina – department for health and social welfare and the University Clinical Center of Kosovo to pilot the cervical cancer screening program. This cooperation supports the introduction of screening for cervical cancer as a new service within primary care in Prishtina and aims to have this municipality as a case study to set up the cervical cancer screening program nation-wide throughout other municipalities in Kosovo.

With the current pilot approximately 2000 living in Prishtina women will be screened, the capacities among family doctors will be built so that the service integrated  within the primary care, and the procedural protocol will be established that defines the system of cooperation between the primary and tertiary care levels (considering the Institute of Pathology in UCCK is the only cytological laboratory in Kosovo). The campaign calling to join free screening will be launched in the following days.

On top of introducing cervical cancer screening as a new service within primary care, partners involved aim to create policy discussions advocating for a nation-wide cervical cancer screening program in Kosovo, in line with the National Program for Cancer Control.

The cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Screening for cervical cancer helps early detection of pre-cancerous cells and is evidenced to be effective in preventing cervical cancer in many countries around the globe.

This pilot project is a result of the cooperation between the Department for Health and Social Welfare in Municipality of Prishtina, National Board for Cancer Control, Main Family Medicine Center in Prishtina, Institute of Pathology at the University Clinical Center of Kosovo, Action for Mothers and Children, 700 for Science Foundation, World Health Organization-office in Prishtina and the United Nations Population Fund-office in Prishtina.