Cervical cancer: Don’t stop your teenagers from getting vaccines – ACPN advises parents
The Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria, ACPN, has advised parents not to prevent their teenage female children from getting vaccines aimed at at preventing cervical cancer.
ACPN Chairman in Oyo State, Pharmacist Adebayo Gbadamosi, noted that this is necessary in order to prevent cervical cancer among women in their later age.
Gbadamosi spoke on Monday during the flag-off of pharmacy-based immunization delivery, organised by Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board in collaboration with ACPN and Population Services International Nigeria.
The event was attended by Executive Secretary of Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji, who was represented by Dr Adeyemi Adewole, Nigeria Country Manager of the programme, Dr Adebayo Adebisi and other stakeholders in the healthcare sector in the state.
Gbadamosi while speaking with journalists at the event, lamented that a lot of women come down with cervical cancer in their later years.
He maintained that teenagers from age 13 need vaccines in order to prevent cervical cancer in the future.
He advised parents not to discourage their teenage children especially females from accessing vaccines in order to prevent cervical cancer and other chronic diseases in the future.
Gbadamosi said, “The world is moving towards prevention than cure. You find out that a lot of women come down with cervical cancer in their later years, in their reproductive age and this can be prevented.
“When we are talking about vaccination, we are talking about preventive health. You are anticipating that if anything comes, the body is ready to defend against it.
“If we equip all our children before they become sexually active with vaccines to prevent cervical cancer at age 13, that means all our women at that age will hardly come out with cervical cancer, that means that we will have a better reproductive age for women and less mortality. I can assure you that vaccination is safe. It helps us to prevent mortality and elongate life.
“We are here for the flag off ceremony of the pharmacy-based immunization delivery. The essence of this programme is to bring immunization closer to the people by involving pharmacists all around Oyo State. You know that pharmacists are the closest healthcare practitioners to the people, that is why we called them community pharmacists.
“It means that everybody will get immunization wherever they are compared to when you have to get to go to general hospitals. It is the HPV hapatises vaccine, that is the major one for children of 13 years for cervical cancer, they are also looking at other vaccines. Healthcare is not about rivalry, it is about collaboration.”
Olatunji, while speaking, said that the overall objective of the initiative is to expand the reach of immunization in the state.
