The federal government has pledged to eradicate Human Papillomavirus (HPV) among teenage girls in Nigeria through a nationwide vaccination campaign aimed at preventing the scourge.
Speaking during the HPV regional vaccination flag-off in Lafia, the Director General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), Prof. Usman Malami Aliyu, emphasized that the exercise seeks to eliminate cervical cancer in the North Central region and across the country.
Targeting girls aged 9 to 14 in secondary schools, the vaccination campaign focuses on preventing HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer in women.
HPV, a common viral infection of the reproductive tract primarily transmitted through sexual contact, has been linked to numerous untimely deaths among Nigerian women.
Represented by Senior Scientific Officer Musa Mutiu-Terere, the DG expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to reducing mortality rates among young girls and women caused by HPV in the region.
He said: “This event is necessary considering the devastating effects of HPV in the lives of women. This also shows the commitment of the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to halt cervical cancer, thereby improving the health status of our women in particular and Nigerians in general.
“The decision of the NICRAT to target Secondary Schools for implementation of this program is deliberate, considering the number of the beneficiaries involved. To achieve maximum outcome, we have, therefore, resolved to take the vaccination to all secondary schools across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria in the first phase.”
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While noting that arrangements had been concluded to escalate the vaccination exercise to religious centers and market places in the coming weeks, the NICRAT Director General commended the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency for its massive support thus far in ensuring the success of the vaccination program in the country.
“Therefore, I urge our daughters in various schools to present themselves for vaccination in order to prevent themselves from cervical cancer and also to justify the huge investment that government is making to safeguard their health. We also expect schools to make good arrangements and ensure that every female student within the target age bracket is vaccinated,” he added.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of the Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Usman Iskilu Saleh, urged all young females in the state within the ages of 9 and 14 years to take the vaccination exercise very seriously, noting that it is a life-saving opportunity that would guarantee good health for them both now and in the future.
While assuring that the vaccine is safe for use, Saleh affirmed that when administered, the vaccine would help to prevent the young females from the agony and sufferings that many women had experienced as a result of cervical cancer in the future.
Earlier in her speech, a representative of the World Health Organisation, Bilqisu Hussaini, while thanking NICRAT for bringing the HPV vaccination program to schools in the region, urged parents and guardians to ensure that their female children are allowed to participate in the exercise in order to guarantee their health in the future.
Our correspondent reports that other stakeholders at the HPV vaccination flag-off exercise including the Director of Nutrition, Nasarawa State Ministry of Education, Jessica Philip; Acting State Coordinator, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Beatrice Osi; Representative of the Health Secretary, Lafia LGA, Hauwa Kaura; among others promised to give the needed cooperation to NICRAT in order to ensure the success of the vaccination programme.