Human Papilloma virus (HPV) vaccines have been administered to 484,761 girls from October to December 2023 by the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB).
HPV is a viral infection commonly causes skin or mucous membrane growths (warts). It is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI).
Dr Ibrahim Mustafa, Permanent Secretary of the board who disclosed this in an interview on Wednesday in Lagos, explained that the girls were inoculated during the Phase 1 introduction of the HPV vaccine through Multi-Age Campaign strategies targeting girls aged nine to 14 years in schools and communities.
According to him, “The campaign suffered initial setbacks from misinformation and anti-vaccine campaigners, saying intensive public sensitization and media advocacy changed behavior and overcame vaccine hesitancy,” Mustafa said.
The Permanent Secretary appealed to parents to avail their girls opportunity of being inoculated, noting that the vaccine was free and delivers protection against HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer.
Mustafa said immunization was a cost-effective proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening diseases.
“Scaling up immunization coverage and uptake in Lagos is not just a goal, but critical to eliminating diseases and achieving universal health coverage,” he said.
The Federal Government on Oct. 24, introduced the HPV vaccine into the routine immunization system to prevent cervical cancer among girls aged nine to 14 years and targets 7.7 million girls, which is the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.
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