It is time to save our girls from this cancer

Management Centre Sub-Saharan Africa head Rajen Bhimaraj and Kisumu’s First Lady Dorothy Nyong'o during the launch of COBAS 4800, the new cancer screening technology for cervical cancer. [File, Standard]

This week, Kenyans looked to the future as we stood up and were counted during the National Population and Housing Census. It was an exercise that left many of us thinking about the future of our country. Here is something else that needs to get us thinking. Come September, it will be time to stand up again—this time for our daughters whose lives are at risk from cervical cancer.

It is up to every mother, father, guardian and caregiver to protect our girls from cervical cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths in the country. This cancer claims the lives of nine Kenyan women every day, yet is preventable with a vaccine that has proven safe and effective around the world.