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Paidamoyo Chipunza Living
Government this week launched a second anti-cancer vaccine in the public health system meant to protect girls from cancer of the cervix.
Starting from last Monday, girls aged 10 years from two selected districts- Beitbridge and Marondera were receiving the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.
A combined 8 931 girls are targeted to benefit from the protection over the next two years in the selected districts.
The girls will complete a course of two vaccinations over a six months period.
This a noble initiative that Government has embarked on considering the vulnerability of young girls and women to many issues chief among them sexual abuse.
It is also a welcome development because according to statistics from the cancer registry, cervical cancer is the commonest type of cancers that affect women in Zimbabwe.
A glance at cancer statistics
There are many other factors that leads to cervical cancer among women but 70 percent of the cases are as a result of the HPV.
According to the World Health Organisation, this vaccine prevents infection from two types of HPV that are known to account for 70 percent of cervical cancer.
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.
About 3, 96 million women over 15 years of age in Zimbabwe are at risk of developing cancer of the cervix (Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry).
The bigger the number of women protected, the higher the chances of reducing cases of cervical cancer and the higher the chances of improving the lives of women and girls in the country.
Why 10 year old girls?
Evidence shows that the vaccine only protects women who have not acquired the cancer virus hence the target are those girls not yet sexually active.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, the age of sexual debut for Zimbabwean women is 15 years. Thus it will be more beneficial to administer the drug to girls below this age.
Resources permitting, Government could consider administering the drug to older women as well as boys- who pass on the virus to the girls.
Parents from the selected districts should therefore understand that a Government is there to protect its citizens and support this national programme that has a potential to save our girls from future exposure to cervical cancer.
Why Beitbridge and Marondera?
According to Government statistics, Marondera and Beitbridge districts have the highest vaccination coverage across all districts in the country and were therefore carefully selected to give a better data representation of the project.
It is believed that the two districts are therefore ready to add another vaccine on their schedule and will achieve the required coverage.
Is this an experiment?
This is not an experiment. The vaccine has already been trialed for efficacy and safety and has been found to be safe and effective.
The national pilot project happening in Beitbridge and Marondera is meant to assess the best approach Government can use in the national rollout of the programme.
The HPV vaccine is one of the two anti-cancer vaccines available in the world and in the country, the other being hepatitis B virus vaccine which protects against cancer of the liver.
In Africa two countries Lesotho and Rwanda have since rolled out the vaccine nationally to all their young girls while 10 others are still piloting the vaccine.
Therefore, the country is not trying something completely new or had lagged behind other countries, but is in line with what everyone else is doing in the world.
Parents should therefore not fear that their children could be involved in an experiment. This is a good cause for the public health delivery system, considering the costs involved with management of cancers.
Is this the end to cervical cancer?
This could be the beginning of a reduction in cervical cancer cases in the country.
It has been argued that without an effective screening, women often present at an advanced stage when it is already too late for treatment resulting in high deaths.
Fruits of this vaccination will however start to be enjoyed about 5 years on when the 10 year olds being vaccinated today become sexually active and prone to the virus, basing on the country’s age of sexual debut-15 years.
Should this be effective, it means the estimated 1 300 women who die every year from cervical cancer would be saved.
For this to be achieved, there is need to involve targeted comunities, its leadership as well as the religious groups.
Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) executive director Mr Itai Rusike whose organisation was involved in planning and implementation of the vaccine from the onset said community needs contributes to the success of the programme.
Mr Rusike said communities want programme to which they are part of and to which they can relate to.
“We were involved from the onset of the programme and our role was mainly to raise awareness on the vaccine and mobilise the girls for vaccination,” he said.
He said in some areas, the religious groups told them to vaccinate their children from their gatherings since some of them do not go to school.
Majority of the children will be vaccinated from their schools.
The study of cultural, traditional and religious beliefs during the same programme is also a welcome development as it will go a long way in informing national programming initially for this particular project and others to come.
Therefore, it is important for health workers and education officers involved in this piloting to document all that needs documentation.
Documentation will allow easy reference to recommendations and comparison of trends emanating from the districts.
Implementing officials should therefore not sleep on the job during this process.
Since this programme will be carried out in schools it will be vital to work closely with school authorities for monitoring of possible adverse events.
School authorities also command respect in communities from which they operate from hence their role in community sensitisation and mobilisation should also be looked at.
For this programme to successfully bear fruits Government should continue engaging with the community.
Online Reporter