KUCHING: A community project called Project SUARA (Sarawak Urban and Rural Action for cervical cancer prevention) will be the first of its kind to have a mobile clinic as its one-stop centre.
The Obstetrician and Gynaecologist (O&G) Department of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) came up with this initiative to face the challenges in managing women’s health in the 21st century.
Project SUARA is a collaboration between non-governmental organisations, Unimas O&G as well as the Sarawak government aimed to increase the coverage of cancer screening and reduce the incidence by treating the disease on site at early stage.
The state government allocated funds to Unimas for the project while the varsity itself provided a refurbished bus that would soon be fully equipped with gynae table, colposcope and mini lab.
Unimas O&G also set up a women’s clinic as well as infertility unit in the faculty since 2018, run by their own staff, including lecturers, trainees and nurses.
“Various services are provided, including antenatal check-up and follow-up. We also provide gynae consultation, pelvic scans, pap smear/VIA/HPV DNA test, among others.
“We do have infertility treatment and procedures. Unfortunately, our clinic only provides Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).
“We will have a fully assisted reproductive technique (ART) service in our new hospital,” said O&G Department’s Prof Dr Awi Idi.
The department is also doing a visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and biopsy on site, including performing cryotherapy.
During the launch of ‘The Wilderness and Wonderfulness of Women’s Health’ book at Unimas on Thursday (March 31), he also emphasised issues related to women’s health, including reproductive health.
He shared about genetic counselling, caesarean section as opposed to normal delivery, adolescent pregnancy, ART and gynaecological cancer.
For the record, Prof Awi is an established scholar and researcher in the field of O&G. He was the first Iban obstetrician and gynaecologist serving in the first medical faculty in Sarawak when he joined Unimas in July 1997.
He has published several articles in journals and has written a few academic books as well as novels.
