- She said during the inaugural ceremony of the IPVS Symposium, at ICCBS, Karachi University as the Chief Guest.
- Health Ministry was in the process of initiating a well-structured immunisation initiative to eliminate this preventable cancer
- The Health Department has begun to screen in several maternity centers in the megacities of Sindh
KARACHI: Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said that HPV immunisation of adolescent girls can substantially reduce the risk of cervical cancer in women and that the Ministry was in the process of initiating a well-structured immunisation initiative to eliminate this preventable cancer and reduce the mortalities that occur due to cervical cancer.
She said during the inaugural ceremony of the IPVS Symposium, at ICCBS, Karachi University as the Chief Guest. She said her Ministry is currently engaged in handling the epic challenges of the recent catastrophic floods and that they are shouldering the tremendous responsibility of not only providing them with the necessities of life (food, water, shelter) but also to protect them from life-threatening diseases such as dengue, malaria, gastro and others.
The Health Department has begun to screen in several maternity centers in the megacities of Sindh and she said that she looks forward to the advice and technical support of the international partners in these endeavors.
The conference was informed that Pakistan is a hotspot for HPV infection with an increased risk of cervical cancer. As sexual education is taboo in the country, this creates even more of an obstacle in tackling this otherwise preventable cancer in women.
Doctors from across the world who have studied the Human Papillomavirus and its vaccine joined the conference online and said that as this cancer is caused by a single agent, it is one of the most preventable cancers and yet it is one of the most prevalent due to lack of vaccination and lack of awareness.
The IPVS Symposium would allow its members to share resources, innovations, data, and research on how to best eliminate this cancer, across the world.
Dr. Atta ur Rehman also spoke about Massive Open Online Courses which is an ever-expanding, free-of-cost resource that provides 1000s of hours of lectures that are at the school and university level that have increased access to learning.
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The esteemed panel also included Vice Chancellor of Karachi University, Dr. Khalid M. Iraqi, Consul General of Germany, Mr. Rudiger Lotz, Director Medical Virology Institute, Tubingen University, Dr. Thomas Iffner, and Director ICCBS, Dr. M. Iqbal Choudhary among others.
