By: Nicholas Osei-Wusu
The Mampong Municipal Health Services directorate in the Ashanti region is highly optimistic of achieving its 8, 000 target of girls aged from nine years to 14 years during the five-day Vaccination campaign against Cervical Cancer.
The exercise, which began yesterday, Wednesday October 8, 2025, across the Municipality, though focused on basic schools, is to inoculate all eligible girls with the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine to offer them a life-long protection against contracting Cervical cancer.
The Public Health Nurse at the directorate, Mrs. Cynthia Anna Amoh, in an interview with GBC at Asante Mampong, expressed satisfaction that the exercise began despite the early morning heavy rains.
She was satisfied also with the level of preparations that involved training of both health and GES staff as well as the availability and deployment of the required logistical and human resources for the programme.
“The Region supplied us with the vaccines and other logistics and we’ve distributed them to various sub Districts and facilities and work started this morning. Before the Campaign, Region called the District Officers for training and we went to the Regional directorate to be trained in HPV and what’s expected of each of us. When we came, we also trained the Vaccinators. We added the SHEP Coordinators because we’re dealing with school children…The SISOs were also part”, she said.
She expressed satisfaction also with the commitment of the Municipal directorate of Education to the vaccination campaign, describing the situation as key to meeting the target.
The Municipal Public Health Nurse assured that, contrary to fears by a section of the public, particularly parents, that their children will not be able to give birth in future, the vaccine is safe and efficacious, and will also protect the girls against the cervical cancer disease.
“We’ve also made them aware that this vaccine is like the vaccine we give to children at the Child Welfare Clinic. It’s a vaccine. It produces an antegen. It produces an antibody against an infection. So when a girl is vaccinated, the body produces antibodies against the Human Papillomavirus, which is called HPV, so that even if the child gets HPV, there’s protection, the antibodies can fight against the infection”, she explained.
Mrs. Amoh warned that, the disease is prevalent in the Mampong Municipality and that, refusal to vaccinate the children against the virus exposes them to the disease which could be contracted at any stage of their lives at a greater cost.
She said, “we’ve a Cercal Cancer Centre at the Hospital, the Maternity Unit, we call it the CEVICARE. We’ve recorded some, we’ve referred them ‘cos the doctor diagnose it and referred them to KATH, I can’t give the number now. We don’t have treatment here so we refer them to the Oncology Unit of KATH.”
She noted that, though cervical cancer is curable if detected and treated early, it could develop into serious complications and even lead to death. That is why the vaccination is important now to protect the children against getting the disease.
Asked about plans for eligible girls who might be out of school during the campaign period, Mrs. Amoh assured that plans have been made to set up vaccination centres in the various communities to cater for all such girls, including an extra day for a mop up.
She said enough community sensitization has been carried out throughout the Municipality adopting various strategies including the use of Information Centres.
The Public Health Nurse therefore urged parents to avail their girl children for the exercise to protect them against getting cervical cancer in future.
