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East Africa: First Ladies to Tackle Cervical Cancer
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New Vision (Kampala)
22 July 2008
Posted to the web 23 July 2008
Anthony Bugembe & Raymond Baguma
Kampala
THE wives of African presidents should convince their husbands to make maternal health programmes a national priority, the Kenyan health minister, Beth Mugo, has said.
"Our First Ladies should find a way of convincing their husbands to give maternal health, particularly the cervical cancer treatment, a priority the way they did to HIV/AIDS," she said on Monday, at the second Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa Conference at Imperial Royale Hotel, Kampala.
Mugo, who represented Kenya's First Lady Lucy Kibaki, said East Africa had the highest prevalence of cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. She did not give figures of the prevalence.
"Although the vaccine against cervical cancer is available, it is too expensive and requires cold-chain storage facilities which are unavailable in rural areas," she said.
According to the Ugandan Ministry of Health officials, a single dose of the vaccine costs sh160,000. Three doses are needed to complete the vaccination which is administered to girls who are not yet sexually active.
The Ugandan health minister, Dr. Stephen Mallinga, said over 80% of women seek treatment too late.
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Victims experience symptoms that include heavy bleeding, smelly vaginal discharge, pelvic pain and pain when urinating
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