New Zealand Adds Four Mobile Breast‑Screening Units to Reach Rural Women

The Ministry of Health has delivered four new mobile breast‑screening units, bringing the national fleet to 14. Each unit carries a mammography machine, IT equipment for image transmission, and an internal waiting area, and is expected to screen about 5,000 women annually. Two units will serve Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Lakes District; one will cover Manawatū, Horowhenua, Tararua, Whanganui, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Gisborne and the East Coast; the remaining unit, the only self‑drive mobile in New Zealand, will operate in Waitematā and Northland, reaching remote communities such as Russell and parts of the Hokianga that were previously difficult to service. Alongside the units, new or redeveloped sites in Whangārei, Takapuna, Greenlane and Kāpiti are opening. The expansion supports the free screening extension for women aged 70‑74, which will add roughly 120,000 eligible women. Since the rollout began, 42,768 women in the new age groups have been invited, 24,470 have been screened, and 339 breast cancers have been detected early.