KUCHING: The Ministry of Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development will collaborate with the Sarawak National Population and Family Development Board (LPPKN) in programmes offered by the board which focus on the wellbeing of women and family institution.
Its minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said both LPPKN and the Sarawak Social Development Council (MPS) have their respective programmes for community wellbeing and through such collaboration, it will provide a win-win situation for the agencies and the community as well.
“We have discussed on what programmes we are going to collaborate on, and among them include encouraging women to go for mammogram test in an effort to prevent breast cancer, and also to go for cervical cancer screening under the ‘Women Wellbeing’ programme,” she said at a press conference after receiving a courtesy call from Sarawak LPPKN delegation at her office in Baitul Makmur, Petra Jaya, on Friday.
She said early detection of both breast and cervical cancer was important as the chances of recovery were higher compared to if the cancer was detected at a later stage.
“Another programme that we are going to be collaborate on is the pre-marriage course offered by LPPKN,” she said.
She said the marriage course was very important in the context of family institution, and hoped that the course could be conducted in a more local context following the state’s situation which would include marriage under adat (tradition).
Fatimah added another collaboration would be the ‘LPPKN’s I’m in Control’ and pregnancy prevention programme.
“This is in line with MPS’s focus to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy under its Sexual Education Advocacy Awareness (KAPS) programme.
“These are some of the areas where we can work together, we use the strength and also the resources that is available at LPPKN,” said Fatimah, adding that MPS would conduct more than 100 outreach programmes next year.
Fatimah welcomed the new Sarawak LPPKN director Shahriah Saharom who reported for duties on Aug 3. She was the Perak LPPKN director before being transferred to Sarawak.
