GICUMBI - The Mayor of Gicumbi, yesterday, called upon girls in the district to respond positively to the newly launched campaign to fight cervical cancer.

Bonane Nyangezi, made the call while addressing residents who included school girls, during the launch of the vaccination component of the campaign in the district.

He urged the students not to shun the campaign saying they should recognise it as an opportunity to protect their health.

"This is a good government initiative aimed at protecting Rwandans and it shows how caring the current government is towards its citizens,” Nyangezi said.

He urged the students to encourage young girls in their respective communities to embrace the campaign.

Emmanuel Kayumba, the District Health Director, said the vaccination campaign targets 5,893 girls in the district.

"We have already established the target group with the help of community health workers. So, we are optimistic that this exercise will run smoothly,” said Kayumba.

The prevention of cervical cancer programme targets girls between the age of 11-15 years through vaccination. 

The programme also makes Rwanda the first African state to use the Human Papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination.

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