adminThis follows a new commitment by a global healthcare company —GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to supply its cervical cancer vaccines to the GAVI Alliance.
The GAVI Alliance, Government’s long-time health partner will then channel the vaccines to Ministry of Health and Child Welfare through the United Nations Children’s Fund.
In a statement yesterday, GSK said distribution of these vaccines was set to begin over the coming few months.
GSK’s president and general manager Mr Christophe Weber said the company would supply types 16 and 18 doses of the vaccine to GAVI Alliance over the next two years.
“Cervical cancer is a significant issue especially in poorer countries where the availability of screening is limited. We are pleased to be expanding our commitment to GAVI by delivering our cervarix (HPV) vaccine to help protect girls in the developing world,” said Mr Weber.
“This continues our significant commitment to make our vaccines accessible to as many people as possible, no matter where in the world they live. We hope that this will help reduce the burden of cervical cancer and positively impact future generations.”
GAVI alliance chief executive officer Dr Seth Berkley said there was a huge gap between girls in developed and developing countries in terms of access to health services and this programme was meant to bridge the gap.
“By 2020 we hope to reach more than 30 million girls in more than 40 countries. This is a transformational moment for the health of women and girls across the world. We thank the manufacturers for working with us to help make this happen,” she said.
Health and Child Welfare Secretary Brigadier General Dr Gerald Gwinji said Government was determined to have the HPV for women to prevent cervical cancer.
He said vaccinating girls as young as nine years was meant to prevent cervical cancer before the girls become sexually active.
Cervical cancer is transmitted through sexual intercourse.
Dr Gwinji said Government was in the process of coming up with plans and strategies on how the programme would be implemented.
“Since we will be dealing in some cases with children as young as nine years communities need to be conscientised so that they appreciate the benefits of having their children vaccinated against cervical cancer,” Dr Gwinji said.
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in Zimbabwe, accounting for 32,2 percent of cancers that affect women and about 1 300 women die every year due to cervical cancer.
Without effective screening, women often present at an advanced stage when it is already too late for treatment resulting in high deaths.
HPV vaccines are given as a series of three shots over six months to protect against HPV infection and other problems that the infection might cause. It protects against cervical cancers in women.
Online Reporter