The full imPACT Review team with Minister of Health Budi Gunadi Sadikin and senior members of his team. (Photo: M. Nobile/IAEA)
Cervical cancer is a priority in Indonesia, accounting for 18 per cent of cancer-related deaths among women. Rates of cervical cancer can be reduced through human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and effective screening to diagnose and initiate treatment in earlier stages. Partha Basu from the IARC said: “Indonesia has demonstrated its commitment to eliminating cervical cancer by introducing the HPV vaccine in 2023, initially targeting more than two million girls in the fifth and sixth grades. The goal is for 90 per cent of the target population to be vaccinated. This, combined with the latest initiative to scale up HPV detection-based screening across the country, will accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer in this highly populated country.”
Childhood cancer is also a priority for the Government, which is committed to meeting the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer target of at least a 60 per cent survival rate for six common childhood cancers by 2030. In 2022, it was estimated that over 12 000 children up to the age of 19 were affected by cancer in Indonesia (Globocan 2022). To help the country address this challenge and increase early diagnosis and care for children with cancer, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was actively engaged in the July imPACT mission as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer and as the technical and financial partner in implementing WHO’s global initiative.
“Working with the Ministry and key hospitals and foundations across six provinces to date, our team at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is pleased and committed to continue strengthening collaborations in education, capacity building, research, and advocacy and resource mobilization in Indonesia as part of our St. Jude Global Alliance. It has been particularly encouraging to work with the Ministry and local paediatric oncology professional and civil society community to apply health systems and policy tools over multiple months together to complement the valuable in-person imPACT review site visits and discussions,” said Catherine Lam, Director at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Childhood Cancer at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Another partner actively involved in the mission was MD Anderson Cancer Center. Their existing partnerships in the country strengthened professional development, in particular for cervical cancer, medical oncology and pathology. “Our team at MD Anderson is honored to collaborate with the Ministry of Health and Dharmais Cancer Hospital on projects to reduce the burden of cancer in Indonesia. We have been partnering on cervical cancer prevention, breast cancer treatment as well as the strengthening of pathology and radiology services. Participating in the imPACT review helped our team further focus our efforts, particularly in the areas of pathology, medical oncology and the elimination of cervical cancer in Indonesia,” said Kathleen Schmeler, Director of the MD Anderson Cancer Center .
