DAR ES SALAAM, April 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 31,291 girls will be vaccinated in Tanzania's north western region of Mwanza to protect them from developing the deadly cervical cancer, authorities said on Wednesday.
Amos Kiteleja, a vaccination coordinator for Mwanza region, said the vaccinations will start from April 23 to 30 this year.
Kiteleja told vaccination stakeholders from Mwanza region that the vaccination against cervical cancer will go in tandem with the administration of a vaccine against polio in children aged 16 weeks and above.
Last week, Tanzania's Vice-President Samia Suluhu Hassan launched a nation-wide vaccination campaign aimed at putting on vaccination over 600,000 girls aged 14 to protect them from developing cervical cancer.
Ummy Mwalimu, the east African nation's Minister for Health, said by vaccinating the girls against the deadly disease, the government will reduce the cost for treatment of cervical cancer.
The government spends about 2,500 U.S. dollars to treat one cervical cancer patient in a year.
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer in Tanzania and kills more women than any other form of the illness. Tanzania is the seventh African country to introduce the vaccine into its routine immunization programme, after Uganda, Rwanda, Botswana, Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa.