HPV Vaccination Witnesses Massive Turnout Of School Girls In FCT, Nasarawa
The ongoing Human Papilloma Virus) (HPV) vaccination in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), witnessed massive turnout of eligible girls who came out voluntarily to receive the jab.
Interestingly, some eligible girls whose schools were not designated as vaccination sites were brought for the vaccination by their mothers who had to wait for their children to be vaccinated in order to take them back home.
Nigeria last Tuesday, introduced the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into its routine immunization system during a National Roll Out flagged off by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, at the Presidential Villa.
When the Gavi Alliance team led some journalists on a field visit to witnesses the vaccination exercise at the Junior Secondary School, Asokoro, Abuja, the School Principal, Izzi Jaafaru Madaki, said that the school management engaged the parents on the need for them to allow their wards to receive the vaccine in order to protect them against cervical cancer.
Madaki noted that about 100 schoolgirls got approval from their parents to receive the HPV vaccine
He said, ‘We have informed them about the importance of the vaccine, and we asked them to get approval before the vaccine, and most of them got approval to receive the vaccine today. We got the approval of the parent; the vaccine is not compulsory, but it is very important. The vaccine is given to our children to prevent cervical cancer, which is common in the country. We need to take action to prevent the disease.
The Federal Government introduced the HPV vaccine into the routine immunization system last Tuesday to prevent cervical cancer among girls.
Also speaking, Head of the HPV Programme, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Emily Kobayashi, expressed satisfaction with the turnout of eligible girls and the support shown parents, traditional and religious leaders who came out to witness the exercise At another vaccination site located at Government Secondary School, Bakin-Ado, Karu, Nasarawa State, one of the parents, Mrs. Ene Faustina, who accompanied her children to the vaccination, told journalists that she decided to make out time and bring them after hearing about the vaccine and the importance.
She said, “I have lost someone to breast cancer and this is a great privilege for me. So, I had to bring my children for the vaccination,”
Also speaking, the Esu of Karu and the Chairman of the Karu Local Government Traditional Council in Nasarawa State, Luka Panya Baba, said that there was extensive discussion between the traditional and religious leaders about the vaccine and its benefits adding that they have no doubt about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.
He said, “What we are witnessing today will help our girls now and in the future. We appreciate Gavi. The Northern Traditional leaders will ensure that we mobilize our young girls to take the vaccine because the benefit is for all of us. We have no doubt about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. There are quite a number of countries that have since introduced the vaccine.
“There are a lots of countries in Africa that have introduced the vaccine into their routine immunization. We hope in the future, countries will make reference to Nigeria about the success of the HPV vaccine”, he added.
HPV vaccine which costs over $4 per dose is being provided for free by the Federal Ministry of Health through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, WHO and other partners.
The vaccination exercise which targets about 7.7 million girls between ages nine and 14, is largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.
In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the second most prevalent cancer among women between the ages of 15 and 44 and the third most common cancer overall. In 2020, Nigeria recorded 12,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths from cervical cancer.
