Will this help reduce the levels of cervical cancer in Nigeria?

Multinational pharmaceutical company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), has announced a 50 per cent reduction in the price of its cervical cancer vaccine in order to allow more women to be vaccinated against the disease.

The company's managing director, Lekan Asuni, said the price cut was borne out of the need to make the vaccine readily available, taking into consideration the cost of living and rate of inflation in the country.

According to Professor Isaac Adewole, of the College of Medicine at the University of Ibadan, over 8,000 women will die from cervical cancer every year what he describes as a painful, miserable and undignified manner.

"Cervical cancer fuels a cycle of poverty. Most of these women are low income earners and often located far from health institutions where help could be sought," Professor Adewole noted.

The human papillomavirus is the cause of 99 per cent of all cervical cancer cases and if detected early enough, through the use of screening, it can be dealt with before the disease develops.

Click here for more information on cervical cancer screening.