ROSE FOUNDATION

ROSE FOUNDATION was established in 2019 as a company limited by guarantee and as a charitable foundation in Malaysia. It is a joint venture between the University of Malaya and the Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer (formerly known as VCS, Victorian Cytology Service Inc.). ROSE Foundation also runs the ROSE Laboratory to provide a centralized cervical screening service using HPV testing.

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​ROSE Foundation has set itself the ambitious goal of making Malaysia one of the first nations in the region to be free of cervical cancer. To achieve this, the Foundation’s Program ROSE (Removing Obstacles to cervical ScrEening) was launched on 14 January 2019 by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Dato’ Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. Both the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and the Ministry of Health are also moving towards eliminating cervical cancer in Malaysia, and Program ROSE is playing a pivotal role in accelerating the process.

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Program ROSE started off as Pilot Project ROSE, a research project led by University of Malaya. The aim of this pilot project was to assess the acceptability, feasibility and reach of a novel cervical screening strategy that utilized self-sampling in primary care settings, HPV (Human Papillomavirus) testing and follow-up of screened positive women in a tertiary hospital in Malaysia.

Instead of the conventional pap smear conducted by a healthcare professional, involving a pelvic examination, Program ROSE offers women the choice of using a self-swab: a quick, convenient and effective approach to enable molecular tests to be undertaken followed by prompt delivery of results straight to women's mobile phone.