Cervical Cancer: Ogun State to Vaccinate 500,000 teenage girls

The Ogun State Government has announced plans to vaccinate about 500,000 teenage girls against the Human Papillomavirus, which is the major cause of cervical cancer.

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The Ogun State Coordinator for the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Victoria Adebiyi, revealed at a media sensitisation programme on HPV vaccination in the state.

“The vaccination campaign would commence on 24 October and is geared towards preventing the spread of cervical cancer among teenage girls.”

The NPHCDA state director said a single dose of Gardasil HPV vaccine will be administered to each girl from ages nine to 14 for free, adding that the vaccine will be administered in all government-owned health facilities and temporarily fixed locations such as markets, schools, religious centres and communities.

She explained that the campaign would last for five days and across the 20 LGAs of the state.

“During this period, teenage girls between the ages of nine to 14 will be given HPV vaccine. After the five-day campaign, HPV vaccination will become a routine for girls from nine years of age. What this means is that every girl who has attained the age of nine will be vaccinated at public health facilities,” she added.

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that affects women and is the fourth most common cancer among women globally in 2018, it caused an estimated 311,000 deaths worldwide.

Causes of cervical cancer have remained unknown, however, 14 out of the 100 types of HPV strains have been identified to cause at least 99 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

The World Health Organisation said HPV types 16 and 18 cause at least 70 per cent of cervical cancers and pre-cancerous cervical lesions, this is even as evidence has linked HPV with cancers of the anus, vulva, vagina, penis, and oropharynx.

WHO estimates that cervical cancer could be the first cancer to be eliminated if 90 per cent of girls are vaccinated against HPV, 70 per cent of women are screened, and 90 per cent of women with the disease receive prompt treatment.