14 counties in drive to eliminate cervical cancer
A pap smear is a procedure to test for cervical cancer in women.
What you need to know:
- The campaign will focus on screening, vaccination against HPV among girls aged 10 to 14 and awareness programmes.
- Health workers from the 14 LREB counties will be supplied with 25,000 medical scrubs and be engaged as ambassadors of the screening campaign.
The Lake Region Economic Block (LREB) counties have launched a cervical cancer campaign to create awareness of the disease.
The initiative, which is being run in partnership with United Nations Children Fund, the National Vaccines and Immunisation Program and the LREB first ladies, will see 850,000 free Human P-apilomavirus (HPV) vaccines distributed to public hospitals and clinics in the 14 counties .
The first ladies said the campaign will focus on screening, vaccination against HPV among girls aged 10 to 14 and awareness programmes.
According to Kisumu County First Lady Dorothy Nyongó, health workers from the 14 LREB counties will be supplied with 25,000 medical scrubs and be engaged as ambassadors of the screening campaign.
Kisumu county First Lady Dorothy Nyong'o says the cervical cancer campaign will see health workers from Lake region counties supplied with 25,000 medical scrubs.
Ms Nyongó was speaking during the launch of the county’s cervical cancer campaign at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Hospital.
Also present was the First Lady Bungoma County Margaret Lusaka, Emily Nyaribo of Nyamira County and Agnes Ochilo of Migori County.
Through the Africa Cancer Foundation, Matibabu Foundation and Tiba Hospital, Ms Nyongó donated 2,000 pairs of medical scrubs to the health workers at the facility.
“This is the first campaign of its kind in the Lake Region Economic Block and is meant to create awareness about this deadly yet preventable and treatable disease. We want girls to get the HPV vaccine and mothers to come for screening early enough so as to ensure timely treatment,” she said.
Cervical cancer is ranked as the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Kenya. Despite the disease being treatable upon detection at an early stage, 50 per cent of the cases are diagnosed late due to lack of awareness and access to screening.
“We are on the road to eliminate the cancer by 2030 as per the call from Who,” said Kisumu Health Executive Gregory Ganda.
“If we target to have 90 per cent of the population screened by 2030, then we will be moving towards elimination of cervical cancer, “he added.
