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ESWATINI TO ROLL OUT VACCINE TO FIGHT CERVICAL CANCER

By SIBONISO NKAMBULE | 2023-04-20

THE ministry of health has introduced the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine.
The vaccine is known to reduce HPV infections and ultimately reduce the number of cervical cancer cases and other HPV-related cancers.

The vaccine will be rolled out to girls aged nine to 14 through a catch-up campaign starting on June 1.

The 10-day campaign will target over 70 000 girls and will be conducted in schools and communities.

This was revealed by National Cancer Control Unit Programme Manager Xolisile Dlamini during a media briefing on the status of HPV in the country held at Hilton Garden Inn on Tuesday. Dlamini said in recent years, the ministry had observed a high number of cervical cancer cases and Eswatini was one of those leading in cervical cancer.

She said research had shown that most of the cervical cancer cases were a result of HPV infection. According to Dlamini, in 2021 alone, 317 women in the country were diagnosed with cervical cancer, unfortunately, over 80 per cent of them live with HIV, whilst 32 per cent of those had died from the disease.

She stated that this often happened because the cancer had become too advanced, and had spread to the entire body, making the chances of survival after treatment very low.
“From these statistics we can deduce that women present their condition very late, and thus minimizing chances to prevent and reduce the HPV infection.

Therefore, early diagnosis is key to win this war. HPV infections are often asymptomatic, and they can resolve spontaneously, however, persistent infection with high-risk HPV types such as types 16 and 18 can lead to cancer. She said the HPV vaccine had been introduced in many countries around the world, including South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Dlamini said its introduction was part of a larger goal to eliminate cervical cancer.
Dlamini highlighted that the country had adopted the WHO global strategy to achieve three targets, 90 per cent of girls fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by age 15, 70 per cent of women screened twice in their lifetime (at ages 35 and 45) with a high-performance test and 90 per cent of women with cervical disease receive treatment.

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