Curtin Sarawak Student Council launching free cervical cancer vaccination programme for campus community

Miri – 24 March 2014 – The Student Council of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) will be launching a Cervical Cancer Vaccination Programme for students and staff of the university on 7 April 2014. The launch will take place at the university’s Health Services and First Aid Centre.

The noble initiative is fully subsidised by the Student Council at a cost of some RM10,000 and will be the first cervical cancer vaccination programme organised entirely by students at a university in Sarawak.

Besides helping ensure students and staff are suitably protected against cervical cancer, one of the key objectives of the programme is to educate the campus community about the causes and effects of cervical cancer.

Prior to the launch, a cervical cancer awareness talk jointly organised by the Student Council and the Sarawak Family Planning Association (SFPA) will be conducted on 27 March 2014 from 12.00 noon to 2.00 pm in the Council Room.

The talk, to be delivered by Matron Fu Choon Kee and Annie Tan of SFPA, will touch on awareness of cervical cancer and available vaccines to treat the disease, as well as address any concerns the campus community might have about the vaccination programme.

Following the launch, interested students and staff will be given one week to consult their families and physicians before signing up for the programme. The programme will consist of three vaccinations administered in the course of six months.

According to an article published in the New Straits Times on 27 May 2013, the World Health Organisation reported that Malaysia is among countries recording the lowest cases of death from cervical cancer with an average of 600 cases a year. The report involved 50 nations, with India among the nations recording the highest number of deaths at 72,000, while Malaysia was 43rd and the second lowest in Asia after Australia (241 cases).

For further information on the vaccination programme, contact Curtin Sarawak Student Council Vice President Vinodh Menon at 012-702 2502 or e-mail vicepresident.sc@curtin.edu.my.

The Student Council of Curtin Sarawak regularly organises projects and activities for the benefit of the campus community as well as the larger community. Last year, it raised RM10,744.00 for the Sarawak Family Planning Association and Sarawak Breast Cancer Support Group through its ScareFest and Fitness Fab Festival events.

Cervical cancer vaccination programme a noble initiative by Student Council of Curtin Sarawak.