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Jakarta authorities introduced a temporary program on Thursday to provide free cervical cancer examinations at 34 points across the capital.

The program is scheduled to run until Jan. 15 and organizers have set a goal of testing at least 6,000 women.

According to Global Cancer, an international NGO, about one Indonesian woman dies every hour from cervical cancer.

Laila Nuranna, from the School of Medicine at the University of Indonesia, said that in Jakarta alone one out of every 1,000 women screened tested positive for cervical cancer.

“If pre-cancer conditions are found, we can provide immediate cryotherapy for free, valid for this month only,” Laila said.

Cryotherapy treats abnormal cells on the cervix by applying a very cold chemical to freeze them. This allows new, normal cells to grow back later in the same area.

The treatment normally costs only Rp 100,000 ($11), but the government is planning to begin providing subsidies to cut the cost to Rp 30,000, Laila said.

Once the disease advances to a certain point and begins to spread across the body, she said, medical costs can reach tens of millions of rupiah.

A major problem is that most Indonesian women who have cervical cancer only seek medical help when the disease is already at an advanced stage, said Ari Kusumah, chairman of the Jakarta branch of the Indonesian Gynecology Obstetrics Association (POGI Jaya).

“More than 70 percent come when it is at a point that necessitates surgery or chemotherapy. This is because of poor awareness of the disease,” he said.