Campaigners and whānau call for the National Cervical Screening Programme to be free for all. Photo: Supplied/Te Tātai Hauora o Hine
The National Centre for Women's Health Research is calling for the government to make cervical screening free for all.
The Māori-led research centre Te Tātai Hauora o Hine, based at Te Herenga Waka, Victoria University of Wellington celebrates its 20th anniversary this October and has led the shift towards Human Papillomavirus (HPV) self-testing, which has been available since 2023.
Currently, the National Cervical Screening Programme, which includes self-testing, is the only national screening programme that is not free for all New Zealanders.
Centre founder and 2025 New Zealander of the Year Professor Bev Lawton ONZM (Ngāti Porou) said this funding gap ran counter to the country's commitment to health equity.
"HPV screening saves lives, it's that simple. But cost is still a barrier for too many women," she said.
"Every other major health screen in New Zealand is free, and there's no reason cervical screening shouldn't be. If we made HPV testing free, thousands more women would take part and we could prevent almost every case of cervical cancer. The science is clear, the system is ready, and the time is now."
Senior research fellow at Te Tātai Hauora o Hine Dr Kendall Stevenson (Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Kurī, Ngāpuhi) said the center was celebrating its 20-year history, but in that celebration calling for further support.
"Cervical cancer is preventable. No whānau should have to be impacted by cervical cancer because we have the tools to prevent it, we just need support, we need screening to be free so that it takes away that cost and we can reach everyone that requires cervical cancer screening."
Senior research fellow at Te Tātai Hauora o Hine Dr Kendall Stevenson. Photo: Supplied/Te Tātai Hauora o Hine
Cervical cancer wasn't just a woman's issue or a person with a cervix issue, it was a whānau issue because it impacted whakapapa, she said.
"So how can we not ignore that eliminating cervical cancer or screening for cervical cancer is the responsibility of everyone? And so that's a massive gap and it requires urgent funding."
Stevenson said New Zealand had made great progress in making HPV self-testing the primary form of screening, the first high-income country to do so.
However, she said the "time is now" for free screening and that the system was ready for it.
"If the screening is not free, that is an immediate equity issue because cost is a huge barrier, particularly in today's climate where the cost of living is so high. And so a cost to do a screen, it's an equity issue straight away. But then you compound that with the health equities that are already in place."
The HPV primary screening programme wasn't fully funded, with the cost depending on where someone gets a test.
Stevenson said even if a clinic offered free screenings, they may add their own costs on top of that.
"So even though they may be thinking that they're going to a free screen they have to pay a cost because the whole entire screening pathway is not free and available. And so clinics or sites have to put on a charge to help cover those costs. So it's quite messy and it's unjust because a woman or someone that needs to screen should never have to pay for that service."
Te Puna Wairua opening day, an antenatal hub owned by Ngāti Toa developed as part of the partnership between Te Tātai Hauora o Hine and Ngāti Toa. Photo: Supplied/Te Tātai Hauora o Hine
Wāhine Māori were impacted by cervical cancer at a higher rate than non-Māori and tended to suffer worse outcomes than non-Māori, she said.
Cervical cancer was one of the very few that was preventable and even further, it could be eliminated, she said.
"Imagine a world with no cervical cancer. You can live a free life without having to worry about cervical cancer. That's the ultimate end goal. And free cervical screening, is a really positive step towards finding that end goal."
Stevenson said if free screening went hand in hand with investment in vaccination there was potential for elimination of cervical cancer.
RNZ has approached Minister of Health Simeon Brown for comment.
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