• Dr Valmont(Inset) addressing participants at the durbar

 The Volta River Authority (VRA) Hospital in the Aboadze en­clave of the Western Region has set itself to eradicate cervical can­cer by 2100, in tandem with World Health Organisation (WHO) targets.

As part of this, the hospital has intensified public education includ ­ing durbars, medical conference among staff, screening and vaccina­tion of women against the disease that killed about 47,500 in 2020, globally.

On Tuesday, staff of the hospital assisted by management, organ­ised a float from Aboadze through Abuesi, Shama and Inchaban to Aboadze, for durbar to climax the cervical cancer awareness Month which falls on January each year. This year’s theme is “Get informed, get screened, get vaccinated”.

The Medical Superintendent of VRA Hospital, Aboadze, Dr Taurus Val­mont, noted that, although, much had been said about cancer of the cervix, it remained a major cause of cancer death in the world.

Dr Valmont said the fight against cervical cancer had been a major objective of VRA medical director­ate as it had intensified screening, vaccination and treatment of pre­cancerous conditions at its health establishments.

“The cost of screening is reduced by 50 percent. Screening is done at the VRA Hospital every Wednesday, although, vaccination can be done on every working day. I would like to reiterate the commitment or the VRA to improve health delivery to the communities in the districts.

“I have to say that cervical cancer is still a major killer in our commu­nities. Let’s all come together, get informed and ensure that our women are screened and vaccinated to help eradicate cancer of the cervix,”he said.

District Director of Health, Ms Naa Deide Okai, explained that cervical cancer affected the entrance of the vagina and the uterus, stressing “it could be eradicated.”

She said the cancer affected wom­en and that almost 99 percent of cas­es were due to human tumour virus commonly transmitted through sex.

Cervical cancer, Ms Okai told the gathering, was the sixth most com­monly cancers in women and that 89,500 got infected in 2020.

 She advised women aged 30- 45 on the need to be screened and also repeat screening periodically, saying that the girl child between ages nine and 14, could also get vaccinat­ed.

For 2023, she said, the WHO con­ference held in Cairo, Egypt, on January 13 , had set a 70 percent screening coverage for women be­tween age 35 and 45 and 90 percent treatment for cervical cancer and management for women with cancer by 2030.

On preventive measures, she stre­esed “safe sex practices including abstinences,being faithful to one’s partner and the use of condom if one cannot abstain.

The Queen mother of Aboadze, Nana Korbabo III, praised the VRA campaign to reduce cervical cancer and encouraged women to partici­pate in sensitisation programmes.

From Clement Adzei Boye, Aboadze