Expanded cervical cancer prevention program available to Cook Islands and Niue women

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

A New Zealand organization has launched a NZ$5.1 million initiative to expand access to cancer prevention and treatment for women in the Cook Islands and Niue.

Financed by the Matariki Fund, the program is spearheaded by Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa, the Center for Pacific and Global Health at the University of Auckland.

“Pacific women will be at the forefront of the initiative, working in partnership with Te Marae Ora (Cook Islands), the Niue Department of Health and regional organizations,” the center said in a press release.

While launching in the Cook Islands and Niue, the program will eventually extend to other islands in the region in line with the World Health Organization's Global Strategy to Eliminate Cervical Cancer.

“Pacific women are disproportionately affected by a disease that can be

eliminated,” said Dame Jacinda Ardern, administrator of the Matariki Fund.

“There is such excellent leadership within the region. This funding is simply about supporting them to save lives with solutions that should be available to everyone.”

The program aims to provide HPV vaccination to at least 90 percent of girls aged 15. It also seeks to expand access to cervical self-testing to achieve at least 70 percent of eligible women by age 35, and again at 45.

With timely diagnostics, the program's goal is to treat 90 percent of women with pre-cancer and invasive cancers.

Cervical cancer is a largely preventable disease, but remains a leading cause of cancer death among Pacific women. In parts of the Pacific, incidence rates are up to nine times higher than in Australasia.

Cervical cancer can be prevented through HPV vaccination, regular screening and timely diagnosis and treatment. Yet access to these services remains uneven across the Pacific.

Collin Tukuitonga, co-director of Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa, described the funding as a game-changer for regional collaboration.

“Cervical cancer is preventable, yet too many Pacific women continue to die from it. This investment allows Pacific countries to work together, sharing expertise, strengthening systems and supporting women leaders, to achieve elimination,” Tukuitonga said.

Judith McCool, head of the School of Population Health and co-director of Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa, said the funding enables sustainable, system-level change.

“This grant allows us to move beyond isolated interventions to a truly collaborative, Pacific-led approach,” she said. “By strengthening leadership, governance, and regional partnerships, we are building the foundations for long-term health equity.”

The initiative will work alongside existing regional programs, such as Empowering Pediatric Immunotherapies for Childhood Cancer, which is funded by Australia and the Minderoo Foundation; and the Polynesian Health Corridors, managed by the New Zealand Ministry of Health and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

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