HPV vaccine boosts fight against cervical cancer in Kisii County

After seeing the devastating effects of cervical cancer, Collette Ombeka, 33, was determined her daughters be protected against the disease.

“My encounter with cervical cancer patients disheartened me,” Ombeka said after visiting a hospital. “Most of them were groaning in pain as they held their pelvic area.”

Ombeka, who lives in Kisii County, Kenya, said other patients lay helpless on hospital beds as family members sat beside them.

“What broke my heart was when I heard one of the patients begging her family to take her home. She had lost all hope of surviving.”

Fortunately, Ombeka won’t see her eldest daughter, Doris, 12, suffer the same fate. After learning about the human papillomavirus vaccine, Ombeka had the child immunized at no cost at a local health center.

“I am very excited that I have received the full dose of HPV,” says Doris. “It warms my heart to know that cervical cancer can be prevented just through an injection.”

Cervical cancer is among the leading causes of cancer-related deaths for Kenyan women.

Approximately, 99 per cent cases are linked to human papillomavirus, a common virus transmitted through sexual contact.

UNICEF is assisting the Kisii County health department by training community health volunteers to educate communities on the importance of childhood vaccines.

In partnership with the health department, UNICEF is also conducting Periodic Intensification of Routine Immunization (PIRI) exercises to ensure children who have missed out on vaccines can catch up.

The exercise targets children aged 0-59 months with all routine vaccinations as well as girls aged 10-14 with the HPV vaccine.

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to bring their children, who may have missed a vaccine, to the nearest health facilities or outreach post.

Through the PIRI exercises, thousands of girls have received the HPV vaccine in the region. The vaccine, which prevents girls from getting cervical cancer later in life, is administered in two doses, six months apart.

Having received the vaccine and becoming a “child champion” for HPV in her community, Doris now has her heart set on becoming a doctor.

“I am working so hard in school to pass all exams and pursue a career in medicine,” she says. “I will be empowered to treat many patients including those suffering from cervical cancer.”

As a champion, she is also working to dispel misconceptions about the vaccine while she mobilizes her peers to visit nearby health facilities and get the injections.

“Some parents were hesitant to allow their girls to get vaccinated against HPV claiming that it would affect their reproductive health. That is false. The vaccine is not harmful.”

By Irene Sinoya