KUALA LIPIS: An Orang Asli teenager teamed up with a specialist doctor to raise awareness on the prevention of cervical cancer here.
Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr D. Devendran, from a public hospital here, said he met the 14-year-old school dropout while she was accompanying her elder sister to the hospital, last month.
"The girl spoke well and showed a video from a social media post of teenagers getting the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations in other states.
"The girl asked me whether teenagers in her village can also get the same life-saving jabs. This touched the hearts of my team and myself," he said in an interview on Sunday (July 28).
Dr Devendran said the girl's request showed that the teenager made him realise that it was important to organise outreach programmes in dozens of Orang Asli settlements in the district.
"This was when my team decided to moot the initiative to reach out to the Orang Asli community through cooperation with non-governmental organisations (NGOs)," he said.
Dr Devendran said a pilot outreach programme will be held at Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Yong, Ulu Dong in Raub organised by the Family Specialist Association of Pahang on Aug 1.
"I will also hold a health talk during the event in Raub," he said.
Dr Devendran said the focus will be on getting teenagers within the community vaccinated.
Dr Devendran said his team will also work towards overcoming the challenges of accessing the remote areas where the Orang Asli settlements were located with the help of the NGOs and the Orang Asli Development Department (Jakoa).
Dr Devendran said he would also engage young women to disseminate the importance of getting the vaccination in their respective settlements.
"They can help to spread awareness about the vaccination through social media platforms such as TikTok," he added.
