Fight against cervical cancer: The vaccine now available in Mali for 10 year old girls

This Friday, November 1, 2024, Madam Minister of Health and Social Development, Colonel Assa Badiallo TOURE, launched the introduction of the vaccine against the Human Papulloma Virus (HPV) in the Expanded Vaccination Program of Mali .

This introduction, which will take place simultaneously across the entire national territory, will concern girls aged 10, whether in school or not, i.e. 267,942 girls for the year 2024. They will each receive a single dose which will allow them effective protection. To do this, all strategies (fixed, advanced, mobile) will be used, including innovative strategies to reach fragile, underserved communities and living in insecure areas.

Furthermore, it is important to point out that the operational cost of this introduction amounts to 780,050 dollars or 468,030,000 FCFA.

The availability of this vaccine for Minister Assa Badiallo TOURE is a great relief because cervical cancer remains a major public health problem worldwide. In Mali, it ranks first among female cancers with a frequency of 26.6% and an incidence of 49.3 per 100,000 inhabitants and the leading cause of death among women aged between 40-50 years.

Every year in our country, more than 2000 cases of cervical cancer are recorded and 1700 die from it. This vaccination, Madam Minister insisted, constitutes a very effective means of preventing this devastating disease.

GAVI representative Thierry Vincent said that a woman dies every two minutes from cervical cancer worldwide. This is why GAVI intervenes in many countries such as Nigeria and Tanzania which have already started vaccination and in Mali where 309,000 girls will benefit from this vaccine.

Present at the ceremony, the United States Ambassador to Mali, Rachna KORHONEN reiterated her country’s commitment to supporting maternal and child health in Mali.

The Minister of Health and Social Development, doctor Colonel Assa Badiallo TOURE, administered the first dose of the vaccine against cervical cancer to little Hawa DICKO, aged 10.

After receiving the keys to the renovated CSCom and a vehicle for the National Immunization Center, the Minister thanked the partner GAVI for its tireless support in Mali. He assured him that good use will be made of these new acquisitions to the happiness of the Malian population.