Gov’t to launch HPV vaccination programme – focusing on reducing cervical cancer

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony, said the government has set aside from the hefty $73.2B
budgeted for the health sector to tackle the issue of cervical cancer
He said that Government will this year launch a massive Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
vaccination programme to prevent the disease. “One of the programmes that we will be rolling
out in a very comprehensive way, is to make sure that we can reduce the incidence of cervical
cancer in Guyana…,” he said.

He continued, “It is a preventable disease; it is a disease that if young people get an injection
that it can be prevented.”  During Minister Anthony’s presentation to the National Assembly on
Thursday, he said the programme will see girls from nine to 14 years being vaccinated against
the disease.
The health minister said there was a previous attempt to start the programme by Government
Member of Parliament, Dr. Bheri Ramsarran during his tenure as health minister, however, it did
not receive support from the APNU+AFC Coalition. “They campaigned against it and what
happened? It resulted in a lot of young women not getting their vaccines…,” Minister Anthony
said. He added, “But I hope that this time around, because this year we are going to start a
massive programme to give HPV vaccination to girls between nine and 14 years of age, and I
hope we can enlist their support.”
Dr. Anthony stressed that cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer among women. As
such, the ministry will ensure females 13 years and older can have access to screening. He
disclosed that this will allow for more visual inspection, with acetic acid (VIA) clinics, pap
smears and the introduction of HPV tests, as well as access to treatment for the disease. “And at
the tertiary stage, we are going to create more access to ensure that people who need surgery can
get surgery, those who need chemotherapy can get that and those who need radiation therapy
would be able to access that as well,” Dr. Anthony noted.
Meanwhile, the Minister Anthony said the government will be introducing prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) tests, to enable screening for prostate cancer. “One of the things that we’ll be
introducing with the resource that has been allocated in this year’s budget is PSAs, because for
the first time we now have the money to be able to buy that machine and we will be doing PSAs
in the public sector,” Dr. Anthony declared.
He added that he hopes men would come forward to be screened, to ensure prostate cancer is
also prevented.