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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, Health Reporter
THE Centre Disease Control and Prevention in Zimbabwe has scaled up cervical screening services countrywide which has seen the establishment of 51 sites.

Cervical cancer accounts for more than a third of deaths in the country.

HIV remains an important risk factor for cervical cancer, with positive women four to five times more likely to develop it compared to HIV-negative women.

Cervical cancer is however, preventable and treatable if detected early.

All sexually active women should go for screening at least once in five years to reduce chances of developing cervical cancer.

The Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) 2015 report said 79 percent of women had heard of cervical cancer but only 13 percent ever had a cervical examination.

According to the CDC Zimbabwe report, there are a lot of women who have tested positive but are failing to access treatment in public institutions.

During the compilation of the report, a total of 36 127 HIV-positive women aged between 25 and 49 years were screened and eight percent had cervical cancer.

“In order to address this critical need and associated gaps, CDC Zimbabwe introduced cervical screening using visual inspection with acetic acid and cervicography (VIAC) and treatment with cryotherapy, thermal coagulation or Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP).Many women were therefore surviving HIV but dying from cervical cancer, a condition that is both preventable and curable,” read the report.

“CDC supported the revitalization of 39 VIAC sites and set up 12 new VIAC sites. To build human resource capacity, 72 nurses, five doctors, three clinical officers and 13 mentors were trained on quality cervical screening and treatment in CDC supported districts and facilities.”

The report also shows that the successful introduction and implementation of the program was a result of close collaboration between CDC, its implementing partners and the Ministry of Health and Child Care.

“CDC Zimbabwe and its clinical implementing partners introduced and scaled up cervical screening across all CDC supported districts thereby preventing women from developing cervical cancer. This was done through the integration of cervical cancer screening into existing HIV services, extensive technical support and revitalisation of existing VIAC sites, recruitment and training of nurses and doctors who conduct cervical cancer screening and treatment, setting up of new VIAC sites to increase coverage and access, and demand creation among HIV positive women,” it said.

The organisation also stated that in 2019, 75 percent of the annual targeted for screening were attended to.

During the same period, 2 635 women had tested positive and only 1 213 managed to access treatment.

“Although the positivity rate of 8 percent is within the expected range, the treatment rate falls short of the expected minimum of 70 percent. In the coming year, CDC will prioritise efforts to increase coverage of access to treatment services for all eligible women while strengthening the referral system for those women requiring advanced treatment procedures that may not be available locally,” the report said.

According to the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Related Cancers in Zimbabwe report, all women who are 15 years and above are at risk of developing cervical cancer.

“Risk factors include early age of sexual intercourse, multiple sexual partners, HIV infection, Sexually Transmitted Infections and smoking. Estimates indicate that every year 2 270 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 1 451 die from the disease,” read the report. — @thamamoe