HPV vaccine provides ammunition against deadly cervical cancer
Although it is said to be the second leading cause of cancer in developing countries, health officials in Guyana have labelled cervical cancer as the one that results in the most deaths among women. In order to reduce its prevalence, the Ministry of Public Health has engaged preventative measures, including a vaccination campaign aimed at combating the Human papillomavirus (HPV) which is known to cause cervical cancer. UNICEF Representative, Sylvie Fouet has amplified that the HPV vaccine is capable of “giving the body the ammunition to fight the deadly cervical cancer”. She assured that combating cervical cancer is insurance for the future. On Monday last, the Ministry launched a national distribution campaign for the HPV vaccination program. The renewed fight got started at the Bartica Community Centre in Region Seven (Cuyuni/ Mazaruni) for school girls 9 to 13 years old. It was at a ceremony to launch the campaign that Fouet offered her remarks. The campaign is slated to target some 36,000 future female adults over the next 12 months. In order to see the desired results materialize, Fouet said, “Lets’ join hands together to get a successful vaccination program in Guyana (because this) is an investment in the future.” Guyana is noted for its successful vaccination campaigns over the last 47 years and thus has been able to see the elimination of polio, yellow fever and measles. Under the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) , more than 95 per cent of the targeted groups have been immunized against various diseases since 1970.Dr Janice Woolford, Specialist, Maternal and Child Health at the PAHO/WHO Guyana office, reiterated that the EPI effort is a “priority program” for the hemispheric and global body, and through its support, Guyana has achieved a 100 per cent elimination of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) over the last four decades.
She cautioned however that Guyana must “maintain surveillance” since there have been reports of the MMR disease outbreaks in some neighboring countries bordering the South American Republic. Since Guyana has a successful track record of combating diseases, Dr. Woolford argued that the Public Health Ministry can achieve similar results with the HPV campaign. She recalled that between 2012 and 2014, Guyana targeted the killer-disease, but sustained, negative media coverage threatened to hamper the effort. In addition, there was a lack of public education and conviction by the previous administration, which also helped to ambush the local effort, although some 21,600 Guyanese received the HPV vaccine during the three-year period.
(Kaieuteurnews.com)