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Four women die daily of cervical cancer in Zimbabwe and the disease burden has been worsened by high HIV prevalence.

This is a very alarming figure and something must be done to bring the figure down. What this means is that about 120 women die of cervical cancer every month and more than 1 400 every year.

Government, concerned about these high figures, has partnered China to screen and treat women for cervical cancer which is fast overtaking HIV as the top killer in Zimbabwe.

The programe being run jointly by Zimbabwe and China is targeting women aged between 25 and 65 years across the country.

Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in partnership with the Human Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital from the People’s Republic of China want to screen and treat about 1 000 women.

Those being invited to undergo the screening are woman who have not undergone screening for the past three years.

According to Dr Ndabaningi Simango of Parirenyatwa Hospital, cancer is a very dangerous disease if detected late but is also one of the easiest diseases to cure and prevent.

Zimbabwe is therefore losing more than 1 000 lives every year to a disease that can be treated or prevented. What women need to do is to go for regular screening at recommended intervals. Dr Simango said the screening is not as painful as many women assume.

We want to commend the Zimbabwean and Chineses governments for joining hands to fight this disease which continues to claim lives of the nation’s mothers.

Many children are orphaned every year as a result of cancer which, as already stated, can be prevented or treated if detected early. It is our hope that many women will take advantage of the ongoing cancer screening at Parirenyatwa Hospital. Dr Simango urged women, especially those from outside Harare to book early so that they benefit from the exercise.

It is a fact that the majority of women who have not undergone cancer screening are in the rural areas where access to health facilities is limited.

We want at this juncture to implore Government to ensure that cancer screening centres are as close to the people as possible especially in rural areas. The screening of women for cancer, we want to believe, is an ongoing exercise and women should be free to walk in at any health institution and be
screened.

There is also a need for the Ministry of Health and Child Care to step up the education campaigns. We need to drastically reduce the number of women dying of cancer which can be treated or prevented. Cancer is only dangerous when detected late hence the need for regular screening. The burden of screening women for cancer cannot be left to Government alone.

It is therefore pleasing to note that some non-governmental organisations have committed a lot of resources to the programme to screen women for cancer.

In the Midlands, there is a very vibrant programme of screening rural women for cancer in areas such as Silobela and we want such programmes to be in each and every district. Cancer should not be allowed to overtake HIV as the top killer in Zimbabwe.

Community leaders should take the initiative to mobilise women in their respective areas to undergo cancer screening as this will go a long way in lessening the burden of orphans in their areas.

We want to declare zero deaths from cervical cancer, a disease that can either be prevented or treated if detected early.