The Delta commissioner for humanitarian affairs, community support services and girl-child development, Orode Uduaghan, has called on relevant agencies and stakeholders to support more sensitisation towards eradicating cervical cancer in the state.

Ms Uduaghan made the call Saturday in Asaba during a courtesy visit to her by members of the Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN), Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Asaba.

She noted that cervical cancer was ravaging the productive health of the girl-child, saying that as a preventive measure, all hands should be on deck to ensure that the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection that causes cervical cancer is eradicated.

“I have been running a Cancer Foundation for the last 17 years, so I’m very familiar with it. I think one of the issues we were grappling with at that time was trying to sustain the HPV dosage.

”Telling them to come the next day for the second dose and the final dose was quite an uphill task,” she said.

Ms Uduaghan assured the group that her ministry would do its best to provide a qualitative platform for the gathering of girl children with a view to facilitating proper cervical cancer awareness in the state.

Earlier, Dr Oghenetega Idaboh told the commissioner that the team was in her office to seek ways of effective collaboration with the ministry since cervical cancer is associated with the girl-child who are future mothers.

She disclosed that on May 6, the umbrella body would organise an HPV-free vaccination (single booster dose) for girls between the ages of 9 and 18 and that Delta is one of the 21 states selected to participate in the programme.

Ms Idaboh also noted that the cervical cancer awareness and immunisation campaign was a fallout of the training of over 110 health workers and media personnel shortlisted across the 36 States and the FCT, which was conducted by the International Paediatric Association in conjunction with PAN

“The essence of the training was to empower the participants with the knowledge and skills to improve vaccination updates and reduce hesitancy for all vaccines, especially the Human Papillomavirus (HPV),” she added.

According to the consultant paediatrician, the trainees in the state are known as Delta immunisation champions.

Ms Idaboh also identified sexual intercourse at an early age (coitarche), having multiple sexual partners or having a partner that has multiple sexual partners, smoking, alcoholism and family history as factors that inhibit the reproductive health of the girl-child.

(NAN)