KABALE: Parliament is currently deliberating on the approval of funds for the acquisition of Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP) Machines aimed at detecting and treating cervical cancer among women in the upcoming fiscal year.
Cervical cancer stands as the fourth most prevalent cancer in women, affecting over half a million individuals annually and claiming the lives of more than 250,000. The primary cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV), a widespread sexually transmitted infection.
As per the 2023 WHO report, cervical cancer ranks as the fourth most common cancer globally among women, with an estimated 604,000 new cases and 342,000 deaths reported in 2020. In Uganda, cervical cancer emerges as the most prevalent cancer among women, with an age-standardized rate (ASR) incidence of 56.2 per 100,000 and a cancer-related death rate of 41.4 per 100,000 in 2020.
During his address yesterday at the sendoff service of Beatrice Kahimakazi, a resident of Nyakahanga Cell, Bugongi Upper, Northern Division, and mother of the LC3 Chairman of Central Division, Kabale Municipality, who passed away from a stroke at the age of 89 at St Philips Estates Bugongi Church of Uganda, Dr. Nicholas Kamara, Kabale Municipality Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Parliamentary Forum on Non-Communicable Diseases, emphasized that once the budget committee approves the budget, every referral hospital and district hospital nationwide will receive a LEEP machine in the forthcoming financial year.
Dr. Kamara further asserted that the procurement of these machines will significantly reduce the prevalence of cervical cancer among women.
CUE IN KAMARA…ON LEEP MACHINE….RR//
