The Nigerian Government has announced that the second phase of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme will commence on May 27, 2024.
Rufai Garba, the Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency revealed this information to journalists during a sensitisation programme organized by the National Association of Women Journalists and Women Religious Groups on the vaccine in Abuja.
On October 24, 2023, the Nigerian Government launched the first phase of the HPV vaccine initiative, targeting over seven million girls aged 9 to 14. This marked the largest number of individuals vaccinated in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.
16 states including Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory participated in the first exercise.
Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara will participate in the second phase of vaccination.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) stands as the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection (STI), causing warts in different body areas contingent on the strain. Moreover, it is linked to several cancer types, notably cervical cancer.
Reports indicate that cervical cancer ranks as the second most frequent cancer among women aged 15 to 49. Nigeria presently registers approximately 12,075 new cases of cervical cancer worldwide annually.
Tragically, this infection results in 8,000 fatalities each year, with 12,000 fresh diagnoses. This equates to 33 new instances of cervical cancer and 22 deaths daily within the country.