The Federal Government on Tuesday introduced the Human Papillomavirus vaccine into the routine immunization system. The vaccination targets over seven million girls, which is the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.
“The onset of the vaccination campaign is an opportunity to safeguard our girls from the scourge of cervical cancers many years into the future. As a parent myself, I have four daughters, all of whom have had the same HPV vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer. I’d like to implore fellow parents to dutifully ensure that this generation of our girls disrupt the preventable loss of lives to cervical cancer in addition to other untold hardship, loss, and pain,” Pate said.
The World Health Organisation noted that a five-day mass vaccination campaign in schools and communities will be carried out during the inaugural rollout in 16 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
As such, Nigeria has prioritized the addition of the vaccine to the country’s routine immunization schedule.
“Recognizing this critical opportunity to reach more girls with higher levels of global HPV vaccine supply and renewed momentum towards accelerating efforts to prevent cervical cancer, the Gavi board approved the revitalisation of its HPV vaccine programme with an investment of over $600 million by the end of 2025. With the additional funding, Gavi and its partners have set an ambitious goal to reach over 86 million girls by 2025, aiming to avert over 1.4 million future deaths from cervical cancer,” the statement added.
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