Africa-Press – Tanzania. COMMUNITY Health Management Teams (CHMT) in district councils have been advised to step up efforts in raising awareness among members of the public on the benefits of Human Papillomavirus Vaccines (HPV1 &HPV2) in protecting girls under 15 against cervical cancer.
Speaking at different occasions to members of CHMT in Pangani, Korogwe and Handeni district councils, Programme Officer for Immunization and Vaccines Development from the Ministry of Health Community development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Lotalis Gadau advised the teams to be active in encouraging people to go for the vaccination to increase turnout in their councils.
Ms Gadau hinted that since the government introduced the HPV vaccines in 2018 the turnout is not yet satisfactory, insisting that the teams have a primary responsibility to ensure eligible girls are vaccinated and stay safe from the threat of cervical cancer.
“As a nation, we have agreed that our target is to immunise girls aged 14. But we must also encourage those who are above this age to go for frequent screening to know their status,” she noted.
Maternal and Child Health officer from Management and Development for Health (MDH), the non-profit public health organization, Dr Peter Lyaruu, advised the CHMT across the country to also invest in girls who are out of schools to reach them for vaccines.
Dr Lyaruu emphasized that the teams have to cooperate with local authorities including WEOs and VEOs to ensure the level of coverage of HPV1 and HPV2 to girls out of school environment goes up.
“The number suggests that so far most of the vaccinated girls are those currently in schools.
This calls for local government leaders to identify all girls in their areas so that we can reach and protect them all,” he suggested.
However, he tipped that MDH is keen to cooperate and issue possible support to all CHMTs to create awareness and sensitise the public on the importance of the accines.
On his side, Korogwe District Council Executive Director (DED) Halfani Magani expressed his desire to use top influencers to create awareness in the communities.
He expressed that the council is looking forward to using the religious leaders and public figures to create awareness for the major objective of increasing vaccination coverage in Korogwe.
“These people are very essential for this campaign, they can help us in changing the mindset, convincing the mass on the benefits of the vaccines,” he noted.
Speaking on behalf of the Director of Handeni District Council, Charles Mwijage said misconception towards the vaccines is a big challenge that hinders the council from attaining the set goals of 90 per cent coverage for both first and second doses.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
