First Lady Ernestina Naadu Mills on Monday called for increased cervical cancer awareness and strategies to ensure early detection and combat the spread of the devastating disease peculiar to womanhood. She said one of the ways to have significant reduction in cervical and breast cancer cases was to have an integrated approach through women’s health programmes of already existing systems. Launching the Fourth Stop Cervical Cancer Conference in Africa in Accra, she said, it was unfortunate that national screening programme for the diseases were not available in majority of African countries. The conference under the theme: “Africa Unite in Action: Mobilising Political and Financial Support to Strengthen Prevention through integration” is to serve as a platform to improve advocacy for cervical and other related cancers and outline strategies to help in the prevention in Africa. It was organised by the Ghana Government in collaboration with the Princess Nikki Breast Cancer Foundation, a Nigerian-based NGO in association with First Ladies, Ministers of Health and Parliamentarians in Africa. She noted that in Africa only few women, about 1-10 per cent, have access to effective cervical cancer screening as compared to over 80 per cent in developed countries. Cervical cancer develops in the cervix, the low, narrow neck that opens the vagina. The cervix is of vital importance because it protects the uterus and prevents infections from reaching it. Mrs Naadu Mills expressed worry about the misconception about the disease in most parts of Africa which prevents women from seeking medical attention even when they detected abnormal symptoms. The first lady added that African women are very helpful to the family and that losing them through preventable disease like cervical cancer would led to huge social, emotional and economic cost. She, therefore, called for culturally-sensitive messages that would lead to behavioural change, noting that a simple and cost effective techniques - the visual inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA), applying vinegar to the cervix and treating of pre-cancerous lesions using dry ice (crytherapy) - should be deployed to primary health facilities to improve access. Naadu Mills called for the establishment of a functional cervical cancer vaccination programme across the continent, an effective national cervical cancer screening programme and provision of adequate facilities for treatment of cervical cancer. Health Minister Dr Ben Kumbour stated that cervical cancer was the second most common among women world-wide and that in 2000, 471,000 new cases were diagnosed and 288,000 deaths recorded. Approximately, 80 per cent of deaths occurred in developing countries and every year 79,000 women were diagnosed with the disease in Africa out which 61,000 of them died, he said. Dr Kumbour said this could be attributed to ignorance, lack of awareness and certain myths and misconceptions. The Health Minister stressed that the disease could be prevented through two newly available vaccines against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that caused the disease, expecting that it reduces the impact on the next generation. The role of government, he said, would involve a strong political will, enabling environment, necessary support and also facilitation of the major processes towards cervical cancer prevention in Africa, a united front, mobilisation and provision of the required resources to stop cervical cancer. African First Ladies from Swaziland, Niger, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia pledged their commitment to help stop cervical cancer, noting that Africa had shown through soccer that they could demonstrate the will to succeed and overcome the challenges that confronted them. They agreed to lead the way for African women to fight poverty, gender inequalities and remain united to fight cervical cancer in Africa and advocate for their countries to receive vaccines for the millions of African women in the next generations. Source: GNA