Feature: Zambian first lady leads fight against cervical cancer
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E-mail Xinhua, July 25, 2012
Feature: Zambian first lady leads fight against cervical cancer
by Elias Shilangwa
LUSAKA, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The fight against cervical cancer in Zambia has received heightened attention since the ascendancy to power of President Michael Sata after winning last September's general elections.
It is however not Sata who has led to increased attention in fighting cervical cancer in this southern African nation but his wife, Christine Kaseba-Sata, who has taken it upon herself to champion the fight against the disease which is among the major disease burdens affecting women.
While Zambia's former first ladies took other roles to play in society when their husbands ascended to power such as fighting poverty among the women folks in society, the current first lady has decided to embark on a vigorous fight against cervical cancer.
The Zambian first lady, a medical doctor by profession, has been at the center of calling for increased efforts in fighting the disease since her husband assumed office and has rallied for support from various stakeholders.
She was recently quoted in the local media saying that cervical cancer should be fought with the same zeal shown in fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic because it is ravaging the lives of many women in Zambia.
Cervical cancer is the most common type of cancer in Zambia followed by breast cancer, prostate cancer and head and neck cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Zambia and Tanzania have the highest incidences of cervical cancer in Africa.
According to the WHO, about 500,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year and 250,000 die with 80 percent of cancers and deaths occurring in developing countries like Zambia.
In Zambia, 1,300 women die of cervical cancer out of the 1,900 cases diagnosed each year.
As a result of her tireless efforts in fighting cervical cancer, Zambia has for the first time hosted the sixth Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa (SCCA) conference. The SCCA was launched in July 2007 in Nigeria and its aim is to help raise awareness on cervical cancer in Africa.
The Zambian first lady was decorated as vice-chairperson for Forum for African First Ladies Against Breast Cancer last year and it was at this event where she approved and accepted to host this year's conference.
The theme for this year's event, held from July 22 to July 24 in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, is "A New Era in Cervical Cancer Prevention" and one of the objectives for hosting the conference is in line with commitments made at last year's conference.
In a communique issued after the first Global Summit on Women's Cancers in Africa held in Ethiopia on Sept. 2, 2011, the first ladies of Zambia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Swaziland committed themselves to champion support for education, awareness prevention, screening and early detection, treatment and palliative care of women cancers, especially cervical and breast cancer.
The African first ladies further committed themselves to closely work with their husbands to champion greater awareness about the burden of women's cancers and other non-communicable diseases in their countries and to work for improved financing and leadership for the prevention and control of women's cancers worldwide.
This year's conference, which attracted over 1,000 delegates from 25 countries, is part of continued efforts by African first ladies to address cervical cancer.
Speaking at the start of the conference, the Zambian first lady described as unacceptable statistics of women dying from cervical cancer each year in the country.
According to her, women should not continue dying of cervical cancer when the disease is preventive and called on the Zambian government to develop a national policy for the prevention and fight against cervical as well as breast cancer.
She also rallied cooperating partners to mobilize resources to expand the fight against cancer through prevention services, adding that it is important to raise awareness among women, especially in rural areas on the relation between the human papilloma virus which causes cervical cancer and the HIV pandemic.
"Most rural women are not aware of the symptoms associated with cancer of the cervix. Our women should not die needlessly of a preventable disease," she said.
Other notable speakers at the conference included Mozambican First Lady Maian Da Luz Guebuza who commended African first ladies for playing a leading role in seeking solutions to fight cervical cancer.
The Mozambican first lady, who is the outgoing chairperson of the Forum for African First Ladies Against Breast Cancer, said breast and cervical cancer is a major cause of death in Africa and pledged that the first ladies will continue to work tirelessly to find solutions.
Swaziland First Lady Inkhosikathi Nomsa La Matsebula, who is the in-coming vice-president of the Forum for African First Ladies Against Breast Cancer, said every woman is at risk of the disease, regardless of age and called for accelerated action against cancer.
While the Zambian first lady, with other African first ladies, deserves commendations for the role they have taken in leading the fight against cervical cancer, African governments have been asked to do more to supplement the efforts of these women.
In a declaration released after the conference, the eight first ladies that attended the conference urged their respective governments to increase funding to the health sector particularly for reproductive health services as well as develop comprehensive cancer programs that encompass prevention, treatment and palliative care.
The first ladies also called on governments to scale-up and support local research efforts on all cancer-related diseases and build waiting homes to accommodate cancer patients. They also called for an urgent response for the equipment and drugs necessary to facilitate screen and treatment programs and invest in improved counseling for patients and families.
The Zambian first lady, who has since been bestowed with the chairpersonship of the Forum for African First Ladies Against Breast Cancer, has pledged to ensure that Zambia leads the way cervical cancer fight. Enditem
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