THE Government is soon expected to bring a vaccine for cervical cancer into the country and will be administered to women free of charge.
And Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ) has said about 1,500 women die every year in Zambia from the disease due to lack of access to the cervical screening programme by most women although the cancer screening initiative started in 2005 had helped to cushion the impact.
Ministry of Health Permanent Secretary, Peter Mwaba said an announcement would soon be made on the arrival of the vaccine, known as Gardasil, which prevents the cancer-carrying Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) mostly spread through sexual contact.
He said plans to bring the vaccine into the country were at an advanced level and that it would save millions of women in the country from dying as a result of cervical cancer, which was currently the leading cause of death among Zambian women.
Dr Mwaba said the coming of the vaccine to Zambia was a great relief and would add impetus to the fight against cancer in Zambia because the vaccine would prevent the disease from developing in recepients.
He said the vaccine was expected to arrive in the country before January monthend next year, and vaccinations would commence in February.
And CIDRZ co-director for cervical cancer prevention programme Groesbeck Parham said the centre, which offers technical assistance to the Government, would roll out the cancer vaccine demonstration project in February next year on behalf of the Ministry of Health.
Professor Parham said under the school demonstration programme, 5,600 adolescent girls were expected to be vaccinated against HPV in schools in Lusaka and the Copperbelt before embarking on a national vaccination of women.
“The purpose is to educate the Ministry of Health about the potential problems, barriers, concerns of the community and any difficulty that may arise before it could roll out a national HPV vaccine,” he said.
And Professor Parham said the introduction of the Cervical Screening Programme had helped to reduce the number of deaths from cervical cancer.
He said under the initiative which was based in Lusaka, about 70, 000 Zambian women had been screened and was expected to be scaled out to other parts of the country.
Prof Parham said the HPV prophylactic or preventive vaccine, which was approved by the World Health Organisation, and the food and drug department was invented by the US-based Merck and Company Incorporated.
He said Gardasil, a standard vaccine for prevention of cervical cancer, was invented seven years ago and so far it had proved to be effective in Uganda, Vietnam and India where it had been authorised for use.
[Times of Zambia]
thank you very much MMD for some of these policies and progressive ideas, now can PF build on this please…why are people still sleeping on floors??? (that one was a wrong MMD policy! dont let it go on)
This is global concern.We are please to hear such development in our mother Zambia!The MDGS are now not just a dream but reality.
This same vaccine has caused a lot debt in the USA as comprehensive end results are unknown? Do you know that this vaccine had to be pushed towards immigrants, with no option to decline? Wall street democracy…? These drug companies need human subjects for their trials and unfortunately our stupid African leaders will fall for anything? They are pushing this drug on minorities….? have we learnt from what happened in Nigeria…Mennigitis Vaccine. Do your own research and advise your relatives not to take the vaccine! if their own people denied the vaccine, why should our poor people take it? First Lady , you are Doctor…tell the poor people the truth…!
My understanding is that this vaccination is for women who have not had any sexual relations before..
In Germany they are vaccinating 11 year girls because the “bug” that causes cervical cancer is transmitted during through intimate acts??
Please don’t give this vaccine to Zambians.President Sata please get involved on this matter and oppose it the way the late Levy opposed GMOs. Not enough research has be done on this vaccine, esp on the after effects of this vaccine. Why should Zambians be used as laboratory animals to test the effectiveness of a drug? for Gods sake have we become chimps or rats used for such?
“cervical cancer, which was currently the leading cause of death among Zambian women.”
I do not think that this is a true statistic.
@1 DON’T KUBEBA
You may be very young. Floor beds strated in 1984 under UNIP. By 1991, they were an entreanched system of care in Zambian hospitals.
Thank you number 5…! for your own information…they do not even administer BCG to their newly born babies and they will not accept us as “blood donors” as we had BCG vaccines,and raised in third world nations. This vaccine is now a requirement for all immigrants female applicants between the ages of 14-25 years! These Big Drug Companies (cartels/wall street) do not care about the welfare of the poor
All Girls aged 12-13 years are offered this vaccine in the UK. It is very well researched and certainly good for Zambia.
Beware of the population control vaccine called Gardasil. It purportedly prevents against Human Papiloma Virus infection but in actual fact it has antigens against Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). When given in reproductive young women or girls, they develop antibodies to FSH and cannot ovulate and hence shuts down their ability to have children. Peter Mwaba must be fired NOW for allowing this vaccine in the country. Do NOT allow your children to take this vaccine.
Rockefeller-Funded Anti-Fertility Vaccine Coordinated by WHO
by Jurriaan Maessen
Global Research, September 4, 2010
Prison Planet.com – 2010-08-27
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this product Gardasil is not safe for people, please dont allow it in zambia. it has serious unreverssible side effects including Death. read for yourself- SANEVax.org
vaccine is good but they should have a national screening programme for cervical cancer. There hasnt been any program so far, i dont know what that initiative they are talking about was, as of 2005 women were not being screened and as of today there is no screening in uth or anywhere, too many women have died of this. 1500 /year is an understatement.
I believe Chelston clinic and Chongwe district hospitals are carry out screening programs , the problem could be that they are not as aggressive as they should be .
On one hand we read about Zambia’s population growing by over 900% by the end of the century. On the other hand we are told that a death and infertility causing vaccine is coming to Zambia, all for FREE.
If you care about your sisters, nieces, daughters and friends, please do your own research and warn them against using this vaccine. There are safer ways of controlling cervical cancer than this – DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
“My people parish for lack of knowledge”.
By the way, this Gardasil is also given to boys in other parts of the world. Therefore it won’t be long before Zambian boys are encouraged to be vaccinated as well…
This is a vaccine that is facing rejections in the US. More tests need to be done on it. Dont get too excited!!
This vaccine is overdue in Zambia. We thank PF for making it available to women. It will do good to Zambians. We should look at the positive side of the drug and not on the negatives. Every drug has positive and negative things about it. You just weigh what is good in your country. And am a Dr.
number 16, we don’t need doctors from university of phoniex..do your research please
this vaccine has not been there and people been well. why should we be subjected to such. awe
wont it have side effects
THE GVMNT N D PRIVATE SECTOR SHUD WORK 2 GETHER N BRNING THIS VACCINES AS SOON AS POSSIBLE N IT SHUD B ACCESBLE 2 EVRY WOMAN IN ZAMBIA
Oops! I scanned the top and bottom of the article too fast to realize this was a guest post! Still, great work. I love these ideas and I??ll probably spin them to work on my blog
Oops! I scanned the top and bottom of the article too fast to realize this was a guest post! Still, great work. I love these ideas and I??ll probably spin them to work on my blog