Women doctors pledge support for local vaccine production

The Medical women Association of Nigeria (MWAN) has said it would assist in the production of the Human Papilloma Virus Vaccine in Nigeria by providing the necessary information that would aid the efficacy of the vaccine. The President, MWAN, Lagos chapter, and the Medical Director, June One hospital who disclosed this at a press conference ahead of its 40th anniversary slated for November, said the group of women medical Professionals, which concentrates on cancer in women, has all the detailed information and strategies that would assist in making the vaccine production successful without any flaws.“We concentrate on female cancer specifically breast and cervical cancer.

We have done a lot of screening with the Religious organization in local government areas and in any particular place or where we find women. You cannot produce vaccine without trying it on the field, so clinical trial is impregnated into the essence of vaccine production. MWAN has the clientele because the HPV which initiates cancer is known to us as we are dealing with women with cancers,” she added. Also speaking, Dr. Frances Ajose, Consultant Physician Dermatologist and Associate Professor of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Lagos (UNILAG) said for any organization that would want to produce vaccines in the country, they would have to partner with MWAN to get all the necessary support needed. “The Medical Women are participant in a lot of research, we have a lot of research information in this country but because most of the researches done are individual efforts and as soon as you get what you want you put the research on the shelves,” she added. Meanwhile, Ajose decried the research process in policy making in Nigeria, as she stressed that the government does not appreciate the value of research, adding that policies are necessary to facilitate the research processes in order to reduce the level of maternal mortality and morbidity in the country.

“We all know that research in this country is relegated to the background. The government is yet to appreciate the value of research in policy making especially concerning health. Nigeria has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the world, yet we have not tried to find out what our girls know about child birth, nobody is looking at the girl child education as one of the important means of reducing maternal mortality because it occurs in first time,” she intoned.

She added that government should translate research into practical terms in order to be used as part of the National Strategy of preventing maternal mortality.
“We have tried to implore the government to understand the importance of using research materials for national development that is yet to materialize. If the government engages the Medical Women we will assist them in translating the research materials into practice,” Ajose stressed.

Highlighting the activities lined up to celebrate MWAN’s 40th anniversary, the Assistant Secretary General, MWAN and Senior Registrar, Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) who is also the Local Organising Chairman (LOC), Dr. Yemisi Kila said, the scientific conference as part of the anniversary will bring together stakeholders and policymakers to look at the current trends in health and preventive care in the health sector.

She added that the event scheduled to hold at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers and the Medical Research Centre in LASUTH on the 23rd and 24th of November, with the theme: “Women Health and Empowerment : Tools for sustainable development in the Health Sector “, will address health issues, such as Anemia in Pregnancy including mental health in Nigeria, Immunization vaccines and preventing preventable diseases, the journey so far, food security and poverty reduction and sustainable development, basic package of oral healthcare, among others.