HAYLEEN SAMANI, a 14 year old girl of White River School, West Honiara is the first female student to have been vaccinated with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine against cervical cancer on Wednesday at SIBC to officially launch the vaccination campaign against the killer disease.
Ms Samani appealed to all young girls between the ages of 9 – 14 to come forward to be vaccinated to protect them from having the disease.
She said the injection is very important for girls to get because cervical cancer is the biggest killer amongst women in Solomon Islands.
She added that the injection is simple and not painful as one might anticipates but its long term benefit to women and girls is enormous.
“I encourage young girls to get HPV vaccine before the killer cancer threatens your lives,” she said.
Recently, there has been much publicity, awareness and education over both the print and voice media of the importance and health advantages of participating in the HPV vaccination program.
Ms Samani said that such awareness has enlightened her to ensure she is safe from the disease.
When asked about her feelings after being administered the vaccine she said that chloroquine tablet is bitter than the injection.
“Cervical cancer has been a major concern for the Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS) to eradicate and through the HPV vaccine it could be fully mitigated.
Therefore, all girls in urban centers and in the rural areas must be injected,” concluded the PS of MHMS.
By LACHLAN SHYVES EDDIE
