Govt urged to prioritise cancer fight
Mar 19, 2010
PARLIAMENT has urged the Government to prioritise the fight against cervical cancer by providing vaccination to all adolescent girls.
By Catherine Bekunda
and Milton Olupot
PARLIAMENT has urged the Government to prioritise the fight against cervical cancer by providing vaccination to all adolescent girls.
This was after the First Lady, Janet Museveni, delivered a statement on cervical and breast cancer to Parliament recently.
She noted that the disease was the leading cause of deaths among women, at 12.5% higher than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
“Every girl should be given an opportunity to prevent cervical cancer from attacking her body. Every woman has a right to a life free of cervical cancer,†the First Lady said.
She also suggested that screening and early treatment of cancer be taken up as key elements in the cervical cancer reduction strategies.
Opposition chief whip Kassiano Wadri said: “There should be an affirmative action to make the vaccine accessible and affordable to all women.â€
He said Uganda cannot claim to have made strides in development while over 6,000 women die annually due to preventable diseases.
He appealed to Mrs. Museveni to urge the President to increase funding for reproductive programmes to reduce the high maternal mortality rates.
Health minister Stephen Mallinga said the Government was negotiating with the Global Alliance for vaccines and immunisation against cervical cancer.
“We are training nurses in several hospitals so that they can be able to detect cervical cancer early enough,†he said.
He warned that people engaged in sexual practices with multiple partners are at a higher risk of getting the Human Papilloma Virus which causes cancer.
and Milton Olupot
PARLIAMENT has urged the Government to prioritise the fight against cervical cancer by providing vaccination to all adolescent girls.
This was after the First Lady, Janet Museveni, delivered a statement on cervical and breast cancer to Parliament recently.
She noted that the disease was the leading cause of deaths among women, at 12.5% higher than HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.
“Every girl should be given an opportunity to prevent cervical cancer from attacking her body. Every woman has a right to a life free of cervical cancer,†the First Lady said.
She also suggested that screening and early treatment of cancer be taken up as key elements in the cervical cancer reduction strategies.
Opposition chief whip Kassiano Wadri said: “There should be an affirmative action to make the vaccine accessible and affordable to all women.â€
He said Uganda cannot claim to have made strides in development while over 6,000 women die annually due to preventable diseases.
He appealed to Mrs. Museveni to urge the President to increase funding for reproductive programmes to reduce the high maternal mortality rates.
Health minister Stephen Mallinga said the Government was negotiating with the Global Alliance for vaccines and immunisation against cervical cancer.
“We are training nurses in several hospitals so that they can be able to detect cervical cancer early enough,†he said.
He warned that people engaged in sexual practices with multiple partners are at a higher risk of getting the Human Papilloma Virus which causes cancer.