A Consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, Johnson Obuna has described Federal Government’s procurement of vaccines against cervical cancer as waste of funds.
Obuna said this in an interview with The Point on healthcare and well being of women in Nigeria.
He advised the Federal Government of Nigeria to stop procuring vaccines for females between ages of 9 and 16 as it was done early this year but should resort to sensitization for abstinence.
According to the Medical Director, National Obstetrics Fistula center, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, strict abstinence from sex between 9 and 16 years of age prevents the females from contacting cervical cancer since it is sexually transmitted, while the funds for vaccines can be channeled to other areas of national needs.
He advised the National Orientation Agency to embark on aggressive sensitization on preventive measures for cervical cancer in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria to save costs.
“We need to look at certain things, to get a vaccine is very expensive and I know that before government decides to give it free, is not free because government used money to buy it and once government used money to buy it, they have forgone other things they should have used the money for.
“Informing somebody that cervical cancer is sexually transmitted firstly, be faithful to your partner, make sure you don’t commence sexual intercourse before the age of 16 is cheaper.
“It is cheaper to sensitise than using the money we are supposed to put in another aspect of healthcare for that one, so it is easier to adhere to that but the problem is that immorality has been thrown to the wind. People are no longer morally sound. People found it difficult to preach immorality and that is why they are going for the one they think is easier for them.
“So, for me, it is easier to be faithful, abstain from sex before the age of 16 than vaccine so that government will use the money for the HPV vaccine to attend to the other diseases affecting and killing our children like meningitis ravaging everywhere, cholera and others,” the health expert maintained.
