The Kano State government, in its effort to guard against untimely deaths, especially among women due to cancer, has targeted the immunisation of 1,550,000 girls aged 9 to 14 during the five-day campaign for the vaccination of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
This was disclosed at the flag-off ceremony by the State Commissioner of Health, Dr Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, who revealed the targeted number of people to be vaccinated during the campaign. He mentioned that the exercise is scheduled to take place across the 44 local government areas of the state.
According to him, the HPV vaccination campaign is a proven scientific invention found to be effective in preventing HPV infection that leads to cervical cancer in women.
He added that a single dose of the vaccine is highly effective in preventing infection with HPV Types 16 and 18, which are known to cause at least 70 per cent of cervical cancer.
Dr Yusuf stated that Kano is one of the 16 states in Nigeria in the first phase of the nationwide exercise, where 7.7 million girls aged 9–14 years will be immunised.
Cervical cancer is now considered a vaccine-preventable cancer, as evidenced by the significant reduction in its prevalence in countries where the vaccine is taken through the routine immunization process.
“The mass vaccination campaign is designed to take place in schools and communities, including places of worship, using temporary fixed posts. It is hoped that the vaccine will later be incorporated into routine immunisation schedules within health facilities. The vaccine is safe, free, and effective,” he emphasised.
The Commissioner called on parents and other caregivers to use the opportunity provided by the government to ensure that girls aged 9–14 years receive this vaccine to be protected from HPV infection, which causes cervical cancer and can lead to the untimely death of women in the country.
He urged parents to immunise their children against other vaccine-preventable diseases such as diphtheria, measles, pertussis, tetanus, tuberculosis, polio, hepatitis, and pneumonia, among others.
The mass vaccination campaign is designed to take place in schools and communities, including places of worship, using temporary fixed posts. It is hoped that the vaccine will later be incorporated into routine immunisation schedules within health facilities.
“To prove that the vaccine is safe and effective, I commence the vaccination campaign by vaccinating my 9-year-old daughter, as you can see,” the commissioner stated.
Goodwill messages were delivered by various stakeholders, including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), UNICEF, religious and traditional institutions, and the Women Affairs Ministry of the state.
In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths among women aged between 15 and 44 years.
“In 2020, available data showed that the country recorded 12,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths from cervical cancer,” he stated.
Among the partners and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that attended the flag-off ceremony and promised to help the government ensure the success of the vaccination exercise are UNICEF, WHO, MSF, CORE, GROUP, AFENET, and CHAI, among others.
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