UNICEF seeks NAWOJ support for HPV vaccination
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has urged women journalists to support Human Papilomavirus Vaccination for girls to achieve 90 per cent goal in Nigeria.
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UNICEF Health Immunisation Officer in Oyo State, Mrs Janet Tanimola, made the call during sensitisation meeting on HPV Vaccine in Ijebu Ode.
The meeting was attended by Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ).
Tanimola said, “Phase one campaign and vaccination commenced on October 2023 in 16 states while the phase two campaign would start in May 2024, targeting female children between ages nine and 14.
“By 2025 UNICEF will begin routinised vaccination of HPV for nine year-old girl children.”
She said that although girl children of aged nine to 14 who were omitted during the campaign, would be eligible to get vaccinated from any health facilities closer to them.
The Commissioner for Information, Oyo State, Prince Dotun Oyelade, who was represented by Mr Rotimi Babalola, the Director, Press and Public Relation/ UNICEF Director, Oyo State, said they engaged the media on the campaign because they cherished women and girls welfare in the country.
Oyelade restated the role of media in attitudinal change in the society and pleaded with the women journalists s to support in extending the campaign through their reportage.
He said that, “There was no doubt that people would start seeing positive report and more awareness of the vaccine after the sensitisation with the women journalists.”
In her goodwill message, NAWOJ B Zone Chairperson, Mrs Adeola Adekunle, commended UNICEF and Oyo State Ministry of Information teams for supporting women journalists across the South-West Zone.
Adekunle assured the team for a robust reportage to protect the girls children from having cancers and live a healthy life.
UNICEF Monitoring and Evacuation Specialist, Mr Olusola Olaonipekun, urged the media to spread the message in ensuring that all girl children were vaccinated.
Olaonipekun said that the media report would enable parents and girl children to be properly kept abreast of HPV vaccination.
In his presentation, Mr Olaoye Olarinde, an Health Educator, lamented the high rate and heavy burden of cervical cancer cases in Nigeria annually.
Olarinde, of the Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, disclosed that 12, 075 new cases are being recorded every year and 8,000 persons die from cervical cancer every year.
“We have 12,075 new cases every year and about 8,000 deaths annually in Nigeria. That is huge,” he said.
According to him, the only way to prevent the cancer is to get the HPV vaccine adding that it is important to sensitize Nigerians on the need to get vaccinated.
He noted that misinformation and misconceptions about the vaccine had posed a serious challenge for the uptake of the HPV vaccine.
According to him, Nigeria launched the HPV vaccine in 16 TV states in October 2023, while the remaining 21 states will be launched in May 2024.
He explained that the vaccine named “Gardasil-4″ have been designed to be a one-dosage vaccine which would protect you from cervical cancer.
Olarinde added that after the launch, the vaccine would be introduced as a routine immunisation in 2025.
He disclosed that a Structured School and Community Outreach approach would be used in the vaccination exercise just as said out-of-school children would also be captured
