04 Jun 2024

 Botswana has included Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in its national immunisation programme for girls. 

Ministry of Health spokesperson, Dr Chirstopher Nyanga explained in an interview that the HPV vaccination programme in Botswana was school-based, with the majority of children vaccinated at their schools as a step towards preventing cancer and other HPV-related diseases. 

Dr Nyanga said by vaccinating girls against HPV, their health was protected and also contributed to the broader goal of reducing the prevalence of cervical cancer in the country. 

He said the vaccine was typically for preteen girls, ideally before they become sexually active saying hence it was administered at schools. 

“There is provision for parents to take their children to school if they have missed their doses,” he said, adding that so far, the ministry was satisfied with the parents’ cooperation on the matter. Dr Nyanga said the ministry successfully introduced a school-based HPV vaccination programme in 2015 as a two-dose schedule. 

He pointed out that in preparation for the national HPV vaccination, a pilot demonstration project was conducted in two phases, adding that phase one of the demonstration involved the Kweneng East District in 2013, while the second phase was conducted in three districts, namely, Kweneng East, Kweneng West and Selebi Phikwe. 

Dr Nyanga said the HPV programme aimed to vaccinate over 90 percent of eligible target population, saying over the years it was achieved except for 2018, 2020 and 2021. He highlighted that in 2018 there was limited vaccine supply globally, which resulted in children missing their doses. 

He further said the COVID-19 pandemic also negatively affected the uptake of HPV vaccine leading to low coverage from 2020. 

“However, the backlog was cleared after the supply chain issues were resolved,” he said. Meanwhile Dr Nyanga reiterated that government had initiated strategies aimed at ending cervical cancer, which include, strengthening HPV vaccination for girls aged 9-13 years offered on-site at facilities as well as in outreach activities, the first being the school health-based HPV immunisation. 

He said the other strategy was to screen 70 per cent of women using HPV DNA test as the mainstream method complementing other existing screening methods like pap smear and Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid, which assess women who tested positive for HPV to determine the type of treatment needed. 

He said the last strategy was to treat 90 per cent women of the 70 per cent screened, adding that women were treated for pre-cancerous lesions and invasive cancers. 

He also said the treatment options for pre-cancerous lesions has been expanded by introducing the Thermal Ablative method. 

Furthermore said the National Cervical Cancer Prevention Programme had been conducting district campaigns at which the public was educated and eligible women screened. 

“The Programme is planning its first National Cervical Prevention campaign in June, in collaboration with the First Lady  Neo Masisi, who is the Cervical Cancer Prevention Campaign Ambassador,” stated Dr Nyanga. 

He indicated that annually about 2 000 people were diagnosed with different cancers in Botswana, with nearly 20 per cent of them diagnosed with cervical cancer. 

Meanwhile, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health, Professor Oatlhokwa Nkomazana, said cervical and breast cancers led mortality for cancer patients in Botswana. 

Speaking recently at the World Health Assembly in Switzerland, Geneva, Prof Nkomazana said cervical cancer, followed by breast cancer continued to claim the lives of many women and girls more than any other cancer. 

She indicated that government had taken steps to reverse the situation, among others mentioning campaigns to educate people about preventative measures and the importance of regular screening and early diagnosis. ends