Record donation awarded to UNSW Sydney will enable the Kirby Institute

A $25.9 million donation from the Swire Group will support cervical cancer screening and treatment for over 130,000 women in seven Pacific countries. UNSW Sydney has received the largest single philanthropic donation in its history to work with regional partners to tackle one of the deadliest preventable cancers in the Pacific.
 
The $25.9 million donation from the Swire Group will enable UNSW’s Kirby Institute to work with partners in Australia and our region to support vital cervical screening and treatment services for over 130,000 women in seven countries: Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. Rates of cervical cancer in the Pacific are among the highest in the world, according to the World Health Organization, with Pacific women up to 14 times more likely to die from cervical cancer than women in Australia. “Cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death among women in the Pacific and is devastating to women, families, and entire communities across our region. This generous investment will enable countries like Samoa to partner with the Kirby Institute to advance our vision of a world free of cervical cancer,” said the Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, Prime Minister of Samoa.
 
Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, a common virus spread through sexual contact. Most women with HPV infection or early cervical disease do not experience symptoms, so early detection through screening is crucial. “This landmark investment will enable us to work with countries across the Pacific over the next five years to advance our collective vision of a world free of cervical cancer and ultimately save thousands of lives across our region,” says Professor Andrew Vallely, who is co-leading the work at the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney with Project Manager Vanessa Price.
 
The Swire Group, which made the $25.9m donation, is headquartered in the United Kingdom. “We are delighted to support the Kirby Institute, who have an excellent reputation in the region for highly impactful research conducted in partnership with local leaders, communities, and organisations,” said Sam Swire, Executive Director. “Through Swire Shipping we have been serving the Pacific Island nations for over 70 years. Tragically, in the Pacific, women are dying from a disease that is preventable, and this programme targets its elimination,” he said.
 
UNSW’s Kirby Institute has worked with partners in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Australia since 2010 to codesign and evaluate strategies for cervical screening in PNG and other countries in the region. This new grant will build on the successes of the earlier Eliminating Cervical Cancer in the Western Pacific (ECCWP) program funded by the Australian Minderoo Foundation and complement the Elimination Partnership in the Indo-Pacific for Cervical Cancer (EPICC) program funded by the Australian Government, and recently expanded as part of the Quad Cancer Moonshot Initiative in September 2024. Collectively, these initiatives will support countries on their journey to implementing sustainable cervical cancer elimination strategies. 

< Korea Shipping Gazette >