Incorporate Cervical Cancer Treatment Cost Into The Health Insurance Scheme - Family Medicine Specialist

A Family Medicine Resident with the Korle-Bu Polyclinic Dr. Naa Koowa Coker has bemoaned the failure of the state to incorporate the cost of screening and treatment of the cervical cancer into the health insurance scheme. Speaking to the media on Sunday, she noted that over the years, financing has been one of the major setbacks

for bringing the disease under control since people have to do it at their own cost. I also think on the whole, as a nation we haven’t put our best foot forward with regards to the fight against cervical cancer. We also need to get policies and integrate the screening process into the insurance scheme because financing is a setback. The

WHO recommends the HPV DNA testing as the gold standard but most people cannot afford that, she said, entreating the government to factor that into the health insurance scheme. In addition she called for education on causes, prevention, and treatment to be intensified across the country. She proposed such sensitization

should also be given at the basic level and should be incorporated into the education curricula. In educating women, we should have it as part of our Reproductive Health education down to the elementary school. We don’t even have it well integrated into the curricula. We should let the young girls know that something like this

exists and even start vaccination in order to prevent them from getting it, she also said. On her part, Dr Elsie Adjacodjoe, Family Medicine Resident with the Korle-Bu Polyclinic disclosed that a total of 2,797 women were also diagnosed with cervical cancer in Ghana last year. She stated that out of the number 1,699 deaths were recorded, leaving 1,098 survivors.