On Thursday, schools in the Federal Capital Territory mobilised voluntary schoolgirls age 9 to 14 to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine at the Junior Secondary School, Asokoro, Abuja.
The Federal Government introduced the HPV vaccine into the routine immunisation system on Tuesday to prevent cervical cancer among girls.
The vaccination targets over seven million girls, which is the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.
In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths among women aged between ages 15 and 44 years. In 2020, Nigeria recorded 12,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths from cervical cancer.
The vaccine is being provided at no cost by the Federal Ministry of Health through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organisation, and other partners.
The principal of the school, Izzi Jaafaru Madaki, noted that about 100 schoolgirls got approval from their parents to receive the HPV vaccine.
“The vaccine is given to our children to prevent cervical cancer, which is common in the country. We need to take action to prevent the disease.
“We have informed them about the importance of the vaccine, and we asked them to get approval before the vaccine, and most of them got approval to receive the vaccine today. We got the approval of the parent; the vaccine is not compulsory, but it is very important.”
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