Pasay steps up free cervical cancer vaccination program

MANILA, Philippines–The Pasay City government is allotting P5 million for the free vaccination of around 2,000 indigent female residents against cervical cancer.

The amount is on top of the P1.5 million earlier set aside by the city for the campaign against the killer disease.

Mayor Antonino Calixto said the earlier amount was allocated for the vaccination of an initial batch of 600 women, following the passage of a city ordinance that sought to make cervical cancer prevention a priority of the local government.

He noted that women aged 18 to 50 years old had gone to City Hall to avail themselves of the free vaccines.

“The vaccine can protect both young and older women against the main causes of cervical cancer … Women with cervical cancers can survive through early detection, and it would be better to prevent it through vaccination,” Calixto said.

This week, the beneficiaries received the second dose of the vaccine. A lecture was also conducted to educate Pasay residents on cervical cancer and the importance of vaccination in beating the dreaded disease.

The women are scheduled to take the third and final dose in December.

Cervical cancer is considered the second most common cancer worldwide, affecting women over 15 years of age.

In the Philippines, around 6,000 women develop cervical cancer each year, according to the Department of Health.

All women are at risk of developing the types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that are responsible for over 70 percent of cervical cancer in the Asia Pacific region. HPV is a common virus that can be transmitted through skin contact in the genital area.