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Zimbabwe has once again shown that it is a trendsetter when it comes to promoting the health of its citizens.
When other countries were scratching their heads pondering how to respond to the emerging HIV and Aids pandemic in the 1990s, the government of Zimbabwe took the bold step of introducing the Aids Levy under which workers and employers are taxed to fund measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic.

As a result of the levy, the government has been able to provide essential life prolonging drugs to the infected while also helping children orphaned by the disease.  Furthermore, the Aids Levy enabled government to complement funding from donor communities.

The success of the Aids Levy has seen other countries similarly affected by the pandemic setting up their own initiatives to deal with the disease. These include Uganda, Zambia, Cameroon, Congo, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius and Niger.

Now Zimbabwe has gone another gear up to cement its reputation in the health field by introducing a cervical cancer vaccination programme.

Initially to be run on a pilot basis, the project will see young girls under the age of 13 vaccinated against the Human Papilloma Virus which causes cervical cancer in women.

The pilot project was launched by the Minister of Health and Child Care, Dr David Parirenyatwa, in Beitbridge on Monday.
Every year, thousands of women die from cervical cancer in Zimbabwe. It is the leading killer cancer in the country. The unfortunate thing is that these deaths are needless as cervical cancer can be treated if detected early.

The decision by the government to initiate the World Health Organisation approved vaccination project will reduce chances of the vaccinated girls contracting HPV, which is transmitted sexually.

Vaccination against the HPV is a fairly new development which was launched in 2012 by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. As yet, only 10 African countries are piloting the vaccines while two others were offering total coverage.

The fact that the vaccination programme is being launched in Zimbabwe just two years after GAVI started the HPV demonstration programme speaks volumes of Zimbabwe’s commitment to the health of its citizens, particularly women who bear the brunt of cervical cancer. The vaccination programme will initially be limited to the two districts of Beitbridge and Marondera with 9,000 girls receiving the jab.

We urge the government to ensure that the pilot programme is quickly rolled out to all districts as soon as possible so that the girl child is protected from this dreadful disease.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care also needs to embark on aggressive awareness campaigns for women to regularly go for screening against cervical cancer. This is especially so because the vaccine will not work on sexually active people who might already be infected by HPV.

Health facilities, particularly in rural areas, must be capacitated to be able to offer screening because few women can afford to travel to major towns for this essential service.

In rural areas the majority of people likely to be affected by cervical cancer tend to blame witchcraft for their condition, only to realise when it’s too late that they were suffering from a curable disease.