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The empowerment of women is related to their health status.
Only healthy women can participate actively in building a nation.
It is therefore necessary to continue to emphasize the need to pay attention to certain diseases that continue to cause unnecessary death to women and girls.
Some of these conditions are cervical cancer, which could be prevented by vaccination against the human papillomavirus.
Opportunities, such as International Women's Day, should therefore be used to focus on ways in which innovation can break down barriers and accelerate progress towards gender investing in gender-sensitive social systems and creating services and infrastructure the needs of women and girls.
The theme of the global campaign for this year's International Women's Day celebration, celebrated on March 8, was "Balance for better".
Vaccine against human papillomavirus
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is mainly transmitted through badual contact and most people are infected with HPV shortly after the onset of badual activity.
It is the most common viral infection of the reproductive system.
There are more than 100 types of HPV, of which at least 13 are carcinogens.
Types 16 and 18 are known to be responsible for 70 to 90% of cervical cancers.
More and more evidence is linking HPV 16 and 18 to cancers of the anus, vulva, bad and penis.
Although these cancers are less common than cervical cancer, their combination with HPV makes them potentially preventable through primary prevention strategies such as cervical cancer.
HPV vaccination case
Several countries are implementing national HPV vaccination programs, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.
While this may be true for most, if not all, health situations, the case of cervical cancer is even stronger than that of most other cancers.
The diagnosis of cervical cancer can be very difficult, especially in our environment where laboratory staff and pathologists are poorly available for screening and diagnosing cervical cancer.
Currently, pathologists in Ghana are limited to a few health centers, mainly in Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast and Tamale.
This limited availability of pathologists makes a screening program impractical and limits the public health significance of the population.
Limited availability also means that a national screening program will most likely exceed pathologists and other laboratory personnel.
Among the limited human resources of a screening program, vaccination remains the most viable alternative.
Secondly, there is evidence of a high prevalence of HPV infections among some layers of the population.
HPV infections have also been identified as one of the most common badually transmitted infections in the world.
Thus, the risk of transmission to uninfected persons remains considerably high in the population.
Condoms, for example, have not been shown to be sufficiently protective against HPV infection.
Protection against vaccination remains an important intervention.
Vaccination also offers the opportunity to stop the transmission of the virus, reducing the risk of cervical cancer in women in Ghana.
Once a person is vaccinated, she is less likely to be infected and therefore less likely to infect other people, thus reducing the risk.
Ghana's robust Expanded Immunization Program means that infrastructure and human resources are readily available to implement a national immunization program.
Vaccination will not only be a fair public health intervention because of the limited and poorly distributed distribution of human resources for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, but also a cost-effective intervention.
No national HPV vaccination program
Obviously, the benefits of vaccinating girls against HPV are enormous.
The question is, why has not our country put in place a national HPV vaccination program?
The first reason is the cost of the HPV vaccine.
The vaccine is currently available in Ghana at prices between 250 and 500 GH $ per dose and three doses are needed to be fully vaccinated.
Ghana is currently receiving significant support for the implementation of childhood immunization.
However, there is no clear source of funding for HPV vaccination at the national level, although the NCD policy considers HPV vaccination to be one of the primary prevention strategies for HPV vaccination. enforce.
Second, the level of knowledge about HPV vaccination in Ghana is low, even among NGOs and some health care providers.
The path to follow
The human papillomavirus vaccine offers a unique opportunity to reduce the burden of HPV infection and cervical cancer in Ghanaian women.
The celebration of International Women's Day 2019 provides an opportunity to call for the creation of a national HPV vaccination program.
It is essential to call on industry players, individuals and NGOs to make the vaccine affordable.
Potential sources of funding for a national immunization program should be explored.
This may include, but not be limited to, the national health insurance scheme, participation in beneficiary costs, establishment of a noncommunicable disease fund, part of which would support immunization. against HPV.
The lives of our daughters and our wives matter. It's time to act to save their lives !!!
Dr. Dennis Laryea is Head of Ghana's Health Services Program for Noncommunicable Diseases – This email address is protected from spam. You must enable JavaScript to view it.. Dr. Charity Binka is a member of the National Cancer Board and Executive Director of Women Media and Change (WOMEC) – This email address is protected from spam. You must enable JavaScript to view it.
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