Tamunominini Makinde, decorated ambassador for HPV vaccination in Oyo

•My dream is that every girl is protected

THE wife of Oyo State Governor, Engineer Tamunominini Makinde, has been decorated as the state’s ambassador for HPV vaccination with the aim of empowering adolescent girls and young women to make informed decisions about their health, education, livelihood and wellbeing.

Speaking at the launch of the Oya Campaign by the Girl Effect in partnership with the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, Engineer Tamunominini Makinde, said her dream is that every girl is well protected from cervical cancer through vaccination and becomes a champion for the HPV vaccination.

According to her, “Oya is a colloquial word saying “let’s go. So it is more like saying, Let’s go and work to protect our girls. Today, we’re here to campaign and raise awareness about the HPV vaccine as well as encourage girls between the ages of 9 and 14 to receive the vaccine.

“The vaccine is proven to be a shield against several forms of cancer, including cervical cancer. By vaccinating our girls early, we are protecting them from a preventable disease, thereby ensuring a healthier future for them.

“The health of our children is a shared responsibility, so let us all work together in harmony to ensure that our girls are immune against cervical cancer. Prevention is better than cure, and unfortunately, most cancers have no cure, so the best thing that we can do for our children is to take it that they will do well if they take the vaccine.

“Let us all be committed to promoting healthy eating habits in our homes. When we and our girls are healthy, we can dream big and learn better things to improve our lives.”

Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, stated that the Oya Campaign in Oyo State marked a significant milestone in the collective quest to strengthen adolescent health systems and to champion preventive healthcare as a cornerstone of sustainable development.

According to her, the Oya Campaign, beyond immunization, adopts a multisectoral framework that incorporates nutrition education, health promotion, and psychosocial support for adolescents in adolescent-responsive and culturally sensitive manner platforms.

Dr Ajetunmobi therefore urged that parents, educators, traditional and religious leaders and other stakeholders own the campaign, saying it is to ensure that girls are not only protected from disease but also empowered to thrive in all aspects of life.

“Oya Campaign is a clarion call to urgent and coordinated action. It represents an integrated public health strategy designed to improve awareness, access and uptake of the human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, a scientifically validated intervention for the primary prevention of cervical cancer, which remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality among women in sub-Saharan Africa,” she added.

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Country Director of Girl Effect Nigeria, Boladale Akin-Kolapo said the campaign, supported by GAVI, the vaccine alliance, and implemented in collaboration with Oyo State Ministry of Health and Primary Health Care Development Board, is designed not just to be a campaign but also as a movement and a promise.

According to her, Girls Effect, a UK non-profit organization, believes that when girls are informed, supported and empowered, they become unstoppable forces for transformation in their homes, schools, communities and nation.

“It is a promise to protect girls from cervical cancer, a promise to break the silence and stigma around adolescent health, and a promise to take lifesaving services like the HPV vaccine to every corner of Oyo State and ensure that no girl is left behind.

“Let us not shy away from conversations that can save their lives. Provide them access to the care they deserve so they can grow into strong, healthy and unstoppable women.”

Dr Adeyemi Adewole, director of health planning, research and statistics of the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, in an overview of cervical cancer, said HPV is the main causative agent for cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women.

He said that 12,000 new cervical cancer cases occur every year, with 8000 women dying due to the cancer, although the condition is preventable through vaccination.