Mozambique: Fighting cervical cancer

| November 17, 2014

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Mozambique is reeling under the twin burden of HIV and cervical cancer. Eleven women die of cervical cancer every day, or 4,000 a year. Yet this cancer is preventable and treatable, if identified early.cervical_cancer

Cervical cancer is caused by two of the 40 types of Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV. Being infected with HPV doubles the risk of acquiring HIV, while HIV hastens the progression of cervical cancer. Many people unknowingly carry some types of HPV, but the virus often dies off without medical treatment.

Health authorities are tackling the problem with a three-pronged strategy: information for prevention, routine screening for detection, and better treatment. Routine screening for HPV is now offered with family planning services, and Mozambique’s Ministry of Health hopes to cover all districts by 2017.

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