A spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health said that most women in rural areas of Afghanistan did not know anything about cervical cancer before, and the country had already established cervical cancer treatment centers. in major cities, including Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif.
KABUL, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) — Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health is trying to establish cervical cancer treatment centers across the country to prevent genital cancer, local TOLOnews TV quoted an official as saying on Sunday. .
Sharafat Zaman Amarkhil, a spokesman for the ministry, said that almost 1,300 women in Afghanistan will suffer from cervical cancer in 2020, as a new survey has not been conducted.
“Through public awareness, we are able to give people the guidelines that we can recommend to prevent cancers,” said Amarkhil, adding that most women in rural areas of Afghanistan do not know anything. about such cancer before, and the country has already built. cervical cancer treatment centers in major cities, including Kabul, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif.
Photo taken on February 8, 2022 shows the interior of Malalai Zizhanton Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, with 604,000 new cases in 2020. About 90 percent of the 342,000 deaths from cervical cancer occur in low- and middle-income groups. countries, says a report released by the World Health Organization on Friday.
According to an article published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal in January, vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus that can lead to this cancer, has not been included in Afghanistan’s national vaccination programs until now.
