Lagos state to introduce HPV vaccination to routine immunization
By Emmanuel Onwuasoanya, Lagos
The Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCD) is set to commence vaccination of young girls ages 9 to 14 with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine starting from 25 to 30 September 2023.
This is a swift response to the prevention of the growing cases of cervical cancer in Nigeria.
In a recent Media Orientation parley with stakeholders on the HPV vaccine, the Board urged parents to give their consent for their wards to get vaccinated against Human papillomavirus. The HPV vaccine is now included in the routine immunization.
According to the Director of Health Education and Health promotion Services of Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Mrs Clara Owojuyigbe who represented the Permanent Secretary, the HPV vaccine is free. She urged parents to take advantage of this opportunity to get their girl child between the ages of 9 and 14 years vaccinated to prevent them from getting cervical cancer in the future.
The immunity of the vaccine which she called Gardasil does not wear out over time, only one dose confer life time.
“I am appealing to parents, religious leaders, and community leaders to bring their Children for HPV vaccination from 25 to 30 September. The vaccine is expensive but the government is making it available for pre-teen girls for free,” Owojuyigbe reiterated.
The first phase of the vaccination for pre-teen girls will be carried out in 16 states in Nigeria. The states include Lagos, Abuja, Nassarawa, Kano, Jigawa, Enugu, Abia, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Benue, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Kebbi, Osun and Ogun State.
Human Papilloma Virus is a sexually transmitted infection found most commonly among sexually active adolescents and young women. The virus is associated with so many types of cancer such as cancer of the anus, vulva, vagina, and penis, and most commonly the cervix popularly referred to as cervical cancer according to the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) Adolescent Health and HPV vaccine consultant, Boma Utobo.
She said that there are over 100 types of HPV though few of them cause cancer in humans especially HPV type 16 and 18 which cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases worldwide.
She urged parents and guardians to take the benevolence gesture of the government to bring their young girls for vaccination with Gardasil vaccine which has an efficacy rate of 95 Percent and has been used in other countries of the world. The importance of this vaccine to our young girls cannot be overemphasized she concluded.
