First Lady Jeannette Kagame has called for political will and commitment of medical professionals in the fight to end cervical cancer while in Sweden on September 16.

She made the remarks during the European launch of Lancet Oncology Commission in Sweden. It was also an opportunity that saw the First Lady awarded for her exceptional commitment to the cause.

“I am no researcher. I am no doctor, or medical specialist. But at heart and by duty, I shall always strive to be an advocate,” she noted.

“I may have been proud to lend my face, my voice, and the stage that this position has offered me, to carry the torch, from boardroom to clinic, from conference halls to private offices, from Kigali to Stockholm....But this torch’s fire was never mine to preserve, and neither was it my individual achievement.”

She emphasized that the advancements Rwanda is proud of, regarding the race to zero cervical cancer fatality by 2030, are the materialization of a system’s efforts.

“Bridging the gap between political will to see positive change occur, and our health system’s ability to effect this change, falls under the advocacy umbrella that many First Ladies carry, yes. But in that, we should never be alone,” she added.

According to experts, the number of new cases of cervical cancer is expected to rise by 55 percent (to 324,598) and deaths by 62 percent (to 186,066 deaths) by 2030.

“I invite my brothers and sisters on the continent, in research, in medicine, in health management, in local politics, in public policy, to constantly question, to constantly reassess, their powers to drive and indeed demand the change that the populations they are endowed to, require.”

Mrs. Kagame said: “unless we all embrace sustainability, autonomy, self-provision, continental collaboration, and every other asks of our SDGs, we will keep counting, witnessing, suffering from deaths that science has long ago deemed avoidable.”

Zero cervical cancer fatality on our continent is possible, therefore it should be expected. No delays, no excuses, she asserted.

“Having inoculated over 90 percent of the girls aged 12 and under against HPV, the main cause of cervical cancer, means that from now on, all the girls aged 29 and under, who screen negative of cervical cancer, may very well be immunized entirely, against the disease,” she highlighted

Rwanda started the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) vaccination programme in 2011, targeting 12-year-old school girls. Health officials say that 97 per cent of them are vaccinated each year. - Alice Kagina, The New Times

JUBA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's Ministry of Health backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday they had kicked off a reactive measles vaccination campaign targeting 37,390 children aged between six months and 14 years.

The ministry and WHO said in a joint statement that the exercise is underway in Juba County which has a history of recurring measles outbreaks with one outbreak confirmed in 2017 and a more recent one in 2019.

The campaign aims to achieve at least 95 percent coverage to interrupt the ongoing transmission of the measles virus in the county.

Acting WHO Representative for South Sudan Fabian Ndenzako said COVID-19 has disrupted immunization programs around the world, increasing the risk of severe outbreaks.

"Vaccine remains the most cost-effective preventive measure against measles. Thanks to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the ongoing reactive campaign focused on building immunity among over 37,000 children who are vulnerable to measles infections and its complications," Nadenzako said.

The vaccination activities are being conducted at health centers, schools and outreach centers to maximize access to all the vulnerable members of the community.

According to the WHO, the current outbreak started with the initial cases reported in mid-July which led to further investigation and confirmation of the outbreak. Since the beginning of the outbreak, the UN health agency said 79 measles cases with no deaths have been reported from the five affected payams in Juba county. A payam is the second-lowest administrative division below county in South Sudan.

Jamal Hassen, director general with the Ministry of Health Central Equatoria State, said that it provides routine vaccination services against vaccine-preventable diseases for the community free of charge to prevent children against measles.

Measles is one of the most contagious diseases of humans that is caused by the measles virus. Measles is preventable and can be eliminated by vaccination. - Xinhua

JUBA, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's Ministry of Health backed by the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday it has trained more than 200 healthcare workers to help bolster disease surveillance and response in the country.

The healthcare workers were trained on how to use an early warning, alert and response system (EWARS) in more than 20 counties in South Sudan to optimize its use to support surveillance, alert management, outbreak response, and laboratory data and management.

John Rumunu, director-general for Preventive Health Services at the Ministry of Health, said the aim of the training was to improve real-time detection and prompt response to disease outbreaks and other health emergencies.

"Given the current humanitarian setting in the country, an effective disease surveillance system is essential to detecting disease outbreaks quickly before they spread," Rumunu said in a joint statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

EWARS is a web-based system designed to improve disease outbreak detection in emergency settings.

The East African nation is experiencing multiple disease outbreaks and floods, thus increasing the risk of transmission of infectious diseases and other health conditions such as severe malnutrition.

Fabian Ndenzako, acting WHO representative for South Sudan, said infectious diseases can cost lives and become difficult to control if they are not detected and responded timely. "With generous World Bank funding, we are strengthening EWARS reporting by training healthcare workers countrywide," Ndenzako added.

The EWARS project was rolled out in 2017 to all 80 counties of South Sudan, with the second phase of the rollout further decentralizing data collection and alert management down to the health facility level from 2019 to early 2020.

According to WHO, before the rollout of EWARS in South Sudan, the integrated disease surveillance and response (IDSR) weekly reporting rates were as low as 30 percent, far below the target of 80 percent. Following the completion of the EWARS rollout to the health facilities, however, the reporting rates have improved and surpassed the target of 80 percent on completeness and timeliness of weekly IDSR reporting. - Xinhua