Guyana to start campaign against cervical cancer
THE Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Programme is expected to start this year and Health Minster, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said its combination with the use of visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) can lead to an elimination of cervical cancer in Guyana.
He said combining the two services can save the health sector a significant sum of money and reduce the disease burden of cancer locally.
The vaccine protects against future infection with HPV, if girls are immunised before they become sexually active.
Guyana currently records about 47.3 cases of cervical cancer per 100,000 people, with a mortality rate of about 22.2 per 100,000 and, in 2010, 161 new cases of cervical cancer were reported with 74 deaths.
Ramsammy explained that the cost of treating one case a year is about $700,000 and the health sector spends about $110M annually on the treatment, including costs for chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
“The real economic costs of cervical cancer have not been estimated yet but, given the average age of those persons who die and the life expectancy of women in Guyana, a woman loses about 26 years of her life because of it,” he said.
Ramsammy said, outside of the medical costs, the loss of production and inability to pursue normal activities would amount to millions of dollars for each person and the cost to the country’s economy is enormous.
The total direct medical costs for treatment of cervical cancer in 2010 alone was $109M and he remarked: “When economic costs are added on, it makes great sense for Guyana to invest in the HPV vaccination programme.”
Ramsammy announced that Guyana will receive a donation of vaccines to cover the 11-year- old age group but vaccinations should be done on the 11 to 13-year age groups.
The number of girls in those age groups is about 24,800 and an additional 75,000 doses of the vaccine would have to be procured, he observed.
As the present cost of the vaccine is US$21, the overall spending on the vaccines would be US$1.6M or more than G$300M.
“The partnership we have developed would only provide us with about 27,000 doses of vaccines, allowing us to vaccinate only the 11-year-olds,” Ramsammy said.
But he assured that the Health Ministry will continue to work with partners to ensure all girls between the ages of 11 to 13 get vaccines.
Ramsammy said, after the first campaign with 11, 12 and 13-year-olds, subsequent years will only need to be done with 11-year-olds.