Timor-Leste launches first same-day HPV screen-and-treat clinic

Timor-Leste has taken an important step towards eliminating cervical cancer through the recent launch of the country’s first same-day human papillomavirus (HPV) screen-and-treat clinic that offers self-collection. 

The new clinic, operated by the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health, is supported by the Australian Government-funded Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer (EPICC) program, which is being delivered by a consortium of Australian, international and in-country partners led by the University of Sydney.

Located at Vera Cruz Community Health Centre in Dili, the clinic offers free, fast and private HPV screening for women aged 30–49 years. Women can collect their own sample, in private, without the need for a speculum examination. Results are available within 1–2 hours, and those who are eligible for treatment can receive it on the same day.  

The clinic builds on the highly successful rollout of a single-dose HPV vaccination program in Timor-Leste from July 2024. As part of that initiative, the nation vaccinated 56,350 girls aged 11–14 years – 90 per cent of the target population – in just three weeks, through a mass school-based vaccination campaign. 

HPV vaccine will continue to be available as a routine vaccination for 11-year-old girls in Timor-Leste. NCIRS, with funding from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is continuing to partner with Timor-Leste to strengthen immunisation, including HPV vaccination, in the country.

Vaccination and test-and-treat facilities are essential components of the prevention of cervical cancer – the second most common cause of cancer death among women in Timor-Leste [PDF]. 

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in all women, and in 2022 there were around 660,000 new cases and 350,000 related deaths globally. It is a disease of inequity, with the highest rates of the disease found in low- and middle-income countries.

Professor Deborah Bateson, EPICC Program Deputy Lead (University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health), said, ‘Cervical cancer not only affects individual women but also has severe consequences for their families and the community. Building on the foundational work of Timor-Leste’s Ministry of Health, supported by the WHO and training led by the Timor-Leste Institute of Public Health, we believe this program will significantly benefit women and their families.’

This initiative supports the WHO’s global cervical cancer elimination strategy and the work of the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health and its partners. 

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EPICC focuses on the three pillars of the WHO’s global cervical cancer elimination strategy: immunisation, screening and treatment. As a partner in EPICC, NCIRS supports the immunisation pillar, including through the provision of technical support to Timor-Leste to build the country’s immunisation capacity.

The Timor-Leste HPV vaccine national rollout was supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; the Australian Government; UNICEF; and the World Health Organization (WHO). 

NCIRS provides technical advice and support to the Timor-Leste Ministry of Health on a range of immunisation activities, including the HPV vaccine rollout and, more recently, supporting the review of the Essential Program on Immunization in the country.