mPharma has launched a PCR based, Human Papilloma Virus(HPV) testkit as part of activities to commemorate International Women’s Day.
The new product is to enable the scaling up of the screening of HPV, the most common risk factor for cervical cancer among women.
HPV causes over 90% of cervical cancer in women, Chief Operations Officer of mPharma, Sophia Baah launched the product as part of the commemoration of the International Women’s Day
She said, “mPharma has launched a 10,000 Women initiative. The idea is to test 10,000 Women in Ghana and Nigeria for cervical cancer. What we are doing is offering a test that under normal circumstances will cost between 300 to 400 dollars but we’re offering their tests for free.
You have a test kit that is GHS 50 that gives you a self-sampling brush that you can use in the privacy of your own home. We take the sample collected and test for you.”
She added that they would also be supporting underprivileged women by testing them for free. She stated, “ we have another group of women who are more underprivileged. And for those women, we are actually doing the sampling for free and the testing for free.”
Also at the launch was the Head of the Cervical Cancer Prevention Training Centre, Dr. Kofi Effa. He took the opportunity to encourage more men to drive HPV awareness.
He said, “HPV is not something that is limited to only women. Men are also at risk of getting HPV and cancers and warts also from HPV.
That is why we recommend vaccination for not only girls but also boys nine to 14 years old before they get into contact with HPV and before they become sexually active.
So it is not only about screening, but when you talk about primary prevention, we are talking about vaccination as well. This vaccination is not only for girls, but we’re also talking about vaccinating boys because boys are also at risk of these cancers.”
Health Services Manager for mPharma, Dr. Yaa Owusu Agyeman also underscored the need for early screening to avert the incidence of cervical cancer.
mPharma is a Ghanaian health tech star-tup that manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their clients across the country.
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