GHS to immunize young females against cervical cancer

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will launch a vaccination campaign by the end of the year that is aimed at pre-adolescents aged 9 to 14 in an attempt to lower the prevalence of the human papillomavirus among Ghanaian women.

Given the concerning incidence of cervical cancer, the goal of this national immunization program is to vaccinate adolescents prior to engaging in sexual activity.

Dr. Kwame Amponsah-Achiano, the Programs Manager for the Expanded Programme on Immunization at the Ghana Health Service, stressed the importance of administering the two-dose vaccine to every child.

“Because we have already done a pilot which was to learn lessons, we will roll out a nationwide vaccination, and our focus is usually on young people before they start their sexual debut. So by the end of the year, we should have started the vaccination.”

“While we were doing the piloting, we had to give three doses, then it came to two, and now we are talking of one, but the one dose is also premised on the fact that we need to have a well-established screening, but we are likely to do two doses because that is the best card put forward.”

10.6 million women in Ghana who are 15 years of age or older are at risk of developing cervical cancer, according to the ICO/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer. According to current estimates, 1699 women lose their lives to cervical cancer each year, while 2797 women receive a diagnosis. In Ghana, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women overall and among those between the ages of 15 and 44. Information about the prevalence of HPV in Ghana’s general population is currently unavailable.

However, in Ghana’s home region of Western Africa, an estimated 4.3% of women in general are estimated to be infected with HPV16/18 at any given time, and HPVs 16 or 18 are linked to 55.6% of invasive cervical cancer cases.

Source: Ghanatodayonline.com