Migori County will embark on a sensitisation awareness campaign of cancer and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to enlighten the public on the need for cancer screening.
Migori County Chief Officer for Public Health Mable Chanzu said that the sensitisation awareness will help area residents to make informed choices as well as be able to identify early signs and symptoms of cancer.
The HPV immunisation will target teenage girls between the ages of 6 and 15 to help them from being exposed to the cancerous cells that may lead to cervical cancer.
According to the Kenya National Cancer Screening Guidelines of 2018, cervical cancer was the second most common cancer in women and the most common cause of cancer deaths in Kenya.
The statistics also show that only 56 per cent of teenage girls in Kenya between the ages of 6 to 15 years have been vaccinated.
The month of January is usually dedicated to cervical cancer awareness across the world and according to Chanzu they will use the cancer sensitisation platform to provide more information to the public as well as urge them to seek free screening services.
“Majority of our population that have cancer seek medication too late because of lack of information about the signs and symptoms of cancer,” said Chanzu.
She said that cervical cancer is one of the easiest types of cancer to be treated if detected early especially in the first stage as compared to other types of cancers.
The county will also embark on the mass rotavirus vaccination that will target infants between the ages of two to six months to protect them against rotavirus infections, a leading cause of severe diarrhea among young children.
Chanzu explained that the rotavirus vaccine is a national routine vaccination programme, especially in areas where the disease is common.
By Geoffrey Makokha
