The Lagos State Primary Health Care Board (LSPHCB) says it administered Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines to 484,761 girls from October to December 2023. 

LSPHCB permanent secretary Ibrahim Mustafa said this in an interview on Wednesday in Lagos. 

Mr Mustafa noted that the girls were inoculated during the Phase I introduction of the HPV vaccine through Multi-Age Campaign strategies targeting girls aged nine to 14 in schools and communities.

According to him, the campaign suffered initial setbacks from misinformation and anti-vaccine campaigners, saying intensive public sensitisation and media advocacy changed behaviour and overcame vaccine hesitancy. 

Mr Mustafa stressed that though the national campaign had ended, the HPV vaccines are still available at PHCs for eligible girls. 

He appealed to parents to avail their girls of the opportunity of being inoculated, noting that the vaccine was free and delivers protection against HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer. 

HPV is a viral infection commonly causing skin or mucous membrane growths (warts). It is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI).

The federal government, on October 24, introduced the HPV vaccine into the routine immunisation system to prevent cervical cancer among girls aged nine to 14 years.

The vaccination targets 7.7 million girls, the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in Africa. The girls will receive a single dose of the vaccine, which is highly efficacious in preventing infection with HPV types 16 and 18, which are known to cause at least 70 per cent of cervical cancers.

On October 30, Lagos introduced HPV vaccines into its routine immunisation programme.

Mr Mustafa said that immunisation was a cost-effective, proven tool for controlling and eliminating life-threatening diseases.

He said reducing the number of zero-dose children requires tailoring immunisation services closer to those families and communities that were not being reached.

(NAN)