Algerian government introduces cervical cancer vaccine

2007-07-09

Cervical cancer is a "quiet" disease that shows its symptoms only at a very advanced stage, making it a real public health problem in Algeria. With its recent decision to introduce a vaccine, the government is attacking the problem at its roots. Aid associations for cancer patients and the medical community have applauded the measure.

By Hayam El Hadi for Magharebia in Algiers – 09/07/2007

[Hayam El Hadi] Many cancer victims must travel hundreds of kilometres to reach a treatment facility.

Under pressure from the medical community, the Algerian government recently allowed distribution of a new preventive treatment for cervical cancer. A lack of early screening and treatment facilities and an increase in the cancer's prevalence in Algeria drove the Algerian government to register the vaccine as a government programme.

The measure makes Algeria the first Maghreb country to offer a vaccination to girls aged between 12 and 13, which will protect them from the disease as adults.

Abdelaziz Belkhadem announced the decision during his presentation of the year's legislative programme, adding that in response to the medical community's pressing demands, Algeria will increase screenings for cervical cancer.

A study conducted by Algeria's National Institute of Public Heath (INSP) revealed that in 2006, nearly 1,200 new cases of cervical cancer were detected at a very advanced stage. The INSP's statistics indicate that each day four women in Algeria fall victim to this cancer.

A silent disease that affects women over 50 years old, cervical cancer can go ten years without being detected during routine gynaecological examinations. The announcement of the upcoming availability of the vaccine has renewed hope for doctors as well as for associations which provide aid to those affected.

Many Algerian women suffering from the disease are forced to travel hundreds of kilometres to benefit from chemotherapy and must solicit financial aid from associations in order to cover their travel costs. El Fedjr, a national humanitarian association for those suffering from cancer has made cervical cancer a priority. Its members give both moral and material support to hundreds of women fighting the disease.

Lila Boutaya is one such woman. She is 55 years old, a mother of three and a five-year cervical cancer survivor.

To return to the Pierre and Marie Curie Centre (CPMC), one of the largest cancer treatment centres in Algeria, Boutaya must be economical. "Sometimes, I have to miss an appointment due to financial reasons," she said. Boutaya, who lives in Medea, a city located about fifty kilometres from Algiers, was unable to hold back her tears when she learned that a vaccine was available. "Even if this vaccine will be no use to me, considering the advanced state of my illness, I think its introduction will put an end to the proliferation of this cancer. When I learned the news, I cried. I thought that if our generation was sacrificed, the one that follows us will be saved."

Homemaker and young mother of a 6-month-old baby, Hind Bendali also openly expressed her satisfaction. "I feel concerned even if I am not affected. I think of my daughter. She will have a chance that we haven’t had. She will be able to be vaccinated, and for me it’s a great relief."

Professor Kamel Bouzid, head of the oncology department at the Pierre and Marie Curie Centre and President of the Algerian Oncology Society, says the vaccine has proved effective. According to his estimates, the vaccination of 350,000 Algerian women over a 25-year period will reduce the medical cost of cervical cancer treatment by half, and will eradicate cervical cancer in Algeria by 2035. Current treatment costs exceed 2.5m DA per patient.

Used in more than 50 countries, the vaccine, marketed under the name GARDASIL, stops the evolution of two viruses, HPV16 and the HPV18, the cause of 70% of cervical cancers.