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New Polish campaign aims to encourage use of free medical tests

02.09.2026 23:55
Poland's health ministry on Wednesday launched a new preventive campaign to increase participation in free health screening programmes.
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Pixabay LicenseImage by Julio César Velásquez Mejía from Pixabay

Health Minister Jolanta Sobierańska-Grenda said more than 400,000 mammography appointments and over 300,000 HPV HR test appointments were available over the next three months, in addition to other screening slots.

Yet public participation in free screening programmes remains low, officials said.

Only 32 percent of eligible women undergo mammograms, while around 15 percent of eligible people used HPV HR screening or colorectal cancer screening with a colonoscopy last year.

The tests are available without a referral, Polish state news agency PAP reported.

Women aged 45-74 can have a mammogram every two years, while HPV HR testing is available to women aged 25-64.

Screening colonoscopy is available to people aged 60-65, or from age 40 for those with a family history of colorectal cancer.

Sobierańska-Grenda teamed up with Sports and Tourism Minister Jakub Rutnicki and Education Minister Barbara Nowacka for the campaign.

More than 500 events are planned across Poland this month, using public spaces and media advertising.

Various sports facilities across the country, including the iconic Silesian Stadium in the southern city of Katowice, are also involved.

Warsaw's National Stadium was set to display "#Prevention" on Wednesday, while the capital's landmark Palace of Culture and Science was expected to be lit orange.

Preventive health messages will also appear on trains and in places such as airports.

Nowacka highlighted the introduction of mandatory health education in schools starting this school year, along with ongoing improvements to the nutritional quality of food provided to students and changes to the way physical education classes are conducted.

Starting October 1, free preventive screening will also include a programme for the early detection of lung cancer using low-dose CT scans, targeting mainly smokers aged 55-74.

(sp/gs)

Source: PAP