Cervical cancer is the most common form of cancers affecting most women in East African countries of Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. In Uganda alone every year close to 3,577 women get diagnosed with cervical cancer and about 2,464 die from it, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report.

But cervical cancer is also the most preventable type of cancers worldwide. Cervical cancer is affecting at least 7.32 million of Uganda’s population consisting of women in their reproductive age.

The research from the Ministry of Health in Uganda shows that about 33.6% of the women in Uganda have the human papilloma virus which causes cervical cancer.

Across the world, cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women aged between 15-44 years. But in Uganda cervical cancer ranks as the first most common form of cancer, and most of the people affected die in less than five years.

Dr. Gerald Mutungi, the programme manager for Non-Communicable Diseases prevention and control at the Health ministry, says that Uganda plans to immunize women against cervical cancer in schools and health centres. The girls are vaccinated with the Gardasil vaccine.