European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week is observed from 17 to 23 January in order to raise women's awareness about cervical cancer and ways to prevent it. The beginning of the European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2022 was marked by an online lecture organized by the Red Cross of Serbia on 18 January in partnership with the Institute of Public Health “Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut”, its Centre for Health Promotion, the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Office for Cancer Screening.

The lecturers were:

dr Snežana Živković Perišić, specialist in epidemiology, National Coordinator of the Cancer Registry: Epidemiological characteristics of cervical cancer

prim dr sc. med. Katarina Boričić, spec. Social Medicine, National Coordinator of the Primary Prevention Program for Human Papillomavirus. Topic: Primary prevention of cervical cancer

dr Bojana Milošević, spec. Gynecology and Obstetrics, National Coordinator for Cervical Cancer Screening. Topic: Secondary Prevention of Cervical Cancer.

The basic message to all women is that cervical cancer is a preventable malignancy. "BETTER PREVENT THAN TREAT - WITH REGULAR CONTROL WE WILL DEFEAT CERVICAL CANCER" is the slogan of the 16th European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, which encourages women to think about their reproductive health and to set aside a day during the year to visit their doctor and perform a preventive examination.

According to the data of the Cancer Registry of the Institute of Public Health “Dr Milan Jovanović Batut”, during 2019, 1,044 newly infected women were registered, and 438 women died from this malignant localization. Based on the latest estimates for 2020 of the European Information System, women in Serbia, with a disease rate of 23.3 per 100,000, are in fifth place in Europe after Montenegro, Romania, Estonia and Lithuania. Cervical cancer death rates are high. The cervical cancer mortality rate is 8.8 per 100,000 women. Prevention is a very important step in protecting women's health.

This lecture was attended by 54 volunteers and professionals from the Serbian Red Cross who are active in health prevention.