Nationwide cervical cancer vaccinations launched at two Musina schools

Charmain Dhliwayo and Khodani Ndlovu from Musina were the first two pupils who were vaccinated during the Limpopo provincial launch of the campaign to combat the human papilloma virus (HPV) among school-going girls in Grade 4.

The launch was conducted at Messina Primary School and St Martin de Pores School in Musina two weeks ago Tuesday. A total number of 66 school girls were vaccinated during the launch.

When launching the vaccination campaign at Messina Primary, the MEC for Health and Social Development, Ms Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba, said the initiative was part of the fight against cervical cancer in women. She added that South Africa was the first country in Africa with such an initiative. “As a responsible country, we feel that it is important to focus on preventing diseases rather than treating them."

She encouraged young girls not to fear the vaccination as it is there to make their lives safer. “We are not only coming here to launch this initiative. We will also regularly visit the schools to monitor how the initiative is being implemented. We would also like to thank the parents who signed the consent forms to allow us to vaccinate their children. We believe that more parents will follow suit in order to make their children safe from cervical cancer.”

Letsatsi-Duba said it was important for parents to use the opportunity because the vaccination would be available free of charge at school, or else they would be charged a fee if they were doing it privately. “I have no doubt that this HPV vaccination campaign is an investment in the health of our young girls and that of future generations of women from contracting cancer of the cervix.”

Musina Mayor Carol Phiri said statistics showed that one in every eight women who died in South Africa died from complications as a result of cancer of the cervix. “In South Africa, 5 743 new cases of cervical cancer are reported each year. About 3 027 of these are fatal. Cervical cancer has been ranked number 13 on the list of causes of death among women, resulting in 67 000 cases and around 3 500 deaths annually. We are happy that our province has also taken this threat seriously by launching this initiative here.”