His Excellency Prof ENG HUOT, Secretary of State, Ministry of Health;
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure and honour to attend and speak on behalf of WHO and health partners in this landmark event “launching ceremony of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine demonstration programme” in Cambodia.
WHO and partners fully support the Ministry of Health’s efforts to expand the immunization schedule and recognize the introduction of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine demonstration programme as an important milestone of progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 3 led by the Government.
Kingdom of Cambodia has made great progress in vaccine preventable diseases. In last two years, the Ministry of Health introduced three new and underutilized vaccines namely Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV), Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine (JE) and Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) into routine immunization system. I wish to underscore the support of GAVI to Cambodia for introduction of these new vaccines.
The strong political commitment by Ministry of Health, the leadership of national immunization program (NIP), the direction and implementation by provincial and district’s authorities, and efforts by health workers and communities together have made all these successes possible.
Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,
According to the latest study in 2012, cervical cancer was the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide with an estimated 266,000 deaths and 528,000 new cases each year. Around 85% of the global burden of cervical cancer occurs in the developing countries. Cambodia has approximately 1512 new cases diagnosed and 795 deaths per year, and cervical cancer is the 1st cause of cancer among women aged 15-44 years. Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer which can be prevented largely by introducing safe and effective HPV vaccine.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends vaccination for 9 to 13-year-old girls in a two dose schedule as the most cost-effective public health measure against cervical cancer. Three HPV vaccines are now being marketed in many countries throughout the world and are highly safe and efficacious in preventing infection with Human Papillomavirus types 16 and 18, which are together responsible for approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases globally. The vaccines are also highly efficacious in preventing precancerous cervical lesions caused by these virus types.
I am pleased to inform you that by the year 2016, globally, 67 countries have already introduced HPV vaccine into routine immunization system. In our region, HPV vaccine has been introduced in 18 countries/areas among 37 in WHO Western Pacific Region as of 2016. Today’s launching ceremony is an important step and a milestone in the history of Cambodia to join the fight along with other countries of the region and the world to prevent mortality and morbidity due to cervical cancer. The HPV demonstration program will also allow Cambodia to explore synergies for promoting and strengthening health interventions for adolescents.
HPV target age group is different from the National Immunization Program’s usual target. HPV vaccination needs the involvement of other stakeholders especially Department of Education, Youth and Sports and community leaders; therefore, more efforts and collaboration are needed especially in the area of communication and social mobilization for a successful HPV vaccine demonstration programme. I would like to emphasize that to achieve full benefit of HPV vaccine, it must be given to all target children regardless where they live or how hard they are to reach.
Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,
Each year, effective vaccination saves numerous lives in Cambodia; worldwide, 3 million children’s live are saved because of vaccinations. On behalf of WHO and other health partners, I would like to express our sincere thanks to all health staff, volunteers and parents who made efforts to ensure that the children of Cambodia receive vaccinations on time through the National Immunization Programme.
In closing, I would like to congratulate the Ministry of Health on the expansion of the National Immunization Programme to include HPV vaccine. WHO and partners are committed to work together with the Ministry of Health in sustaining and achieving the national immunization goals.
Thank you