Kwara State Initiates HPV Vaccination for Schoolgirls to Combat Cervical Cancer

Date: 2024-05-28

According to a news report from Punch, 787 girls from Kwara Basic Schools received the HPV vaccine on Monday in Ilorin, the state capital, as part of a campaign to prevent cervical cancer.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), in partnership with the Kwara State government, launched the free vaccination programme among schoolchildren in the state.

Punch reports that the Federal Government had announced Monday, May 27, as the start date for the second phase of the HPV vaccination campaign in the country.

This second phase will include the states of Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara.

During the rollout of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine in Ilorin, the Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, highlighted that cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally and the second most common cancer affecting women in Nigeria.

He noted that a total of 787 schoolchildren were vaccinated at the commencement of the programme in the state.

Aina, who was represented by Sheu Hassan, described the HPV vaccine as “a very important vaccine,” adding, “It prevents the HPV, which is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract and causes more than 95 per cent of cases of cervical cancer.”

He said that eligible girls between the ages of 9 and 14 years across the 193 wards in the 16 local government areas of Kwara State would be vaccinated against cervical cancer during the five-day programme.

“I believe that together, we will achieve the goal of this exercise. At least 80 per cent of eligible girls aged nine to 14 years will be reached during the five-day intensification, after which the HPV vaccines will be accessed by our girls through routine immunisation services in our PHC facilities.

“Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally and the second most common cancer affecting women in Nigeria. It is estimated that 604,000 cases with 342,000 deaths occurred globally in 2020, and an estimated 12,075 cases and 7,968 deaths were recorded in Nigeria,” the NPHCDA boss said.

He described the vaccine as free, safe, and effective, urging stakeholders to mobilise family members, friends, and communities to ensure that all eligible girls got vaccinated.

In her remarks, the wife of the Kwara State Governor, Olufolake AbdulRazaq, assured of the efficacy of the vaccine, while she charged stakeholders to dispel rumours and misconceptions against the HPV vaccines.

“Today's event set the tone for an ambitious, inclusive strategy to accelerate eliminating cervical cancer as a public health concern. Elimination is within the reach of all, hence we in Kwara are committed to towing this path to ensure that we seize the opportunities within our reach now, so that our girls will live free of this disease.

“In complementing the efforts that culminated in incorporating the HPV vaccine into the national routine immunisation schedule and today's rollout, however, I urge key stakeholders in respective communities to continue to amplify awareness and sensitisation on the benefits of presenting eligible children for the vaccine.

“This no doubt will entail engagements with our communities, traditional and religious institutions to educate, inform, and dispel any misconceptions surrounding the HPV vaccine,” she added.

 

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Inside Kwara     Mahe Abdulkadir     Christopher Odetunde     Saadu Gbogbo Iwe     Shehu Alimi Foundation For Peace And Development     Ahmad Olanrewaju Belgore     Ronke Adeyemi     Nurudeen Muhammed     Nigerian Supreme Council For Islamic Affairs     Ibrahim Labaika     KWSIEC     Abdulrasheed Na\'Allah     Olota Of Odo-Owa     Danladi     Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa     Shuaib Boni Aliyu     Moremi High School     Balogun Ajikobi     Oko-Olowo     Muhammad Fawaz Abubakar     Yaru     Mashood Dauda     Mogaji Aare     Gani Saadu     Abdulganiy Abimbola Abdussalam     IHS Towers     Ibrahim Orire     Saliu Shola Taofeek     Oro Grammar School Old Students Association     Government Girls’ Day Secondary School Pakata     Admiralty Villa     Isapa     Kayode Bankole     Kwara Polytechnic     Theophilus Oyebiyi     Saliu Ajibola Ajia     Kwara Politics     Baboko     Kwara State Branch Of The National Library     Hameed Oladipupo Ali     Col. Adedipe     Joseph Daudu     Alfa Belgore     Memunat Monsuma     Jide Oyinloye     BIR     Aliyu Kora Sabi     Nnazua     Ayobola Ipinlaiye     Smart School     Muhammad Mustapha Suleiman     Arca Santa     Omoniyi M. Ayinla     Bamikole Omishore     KWAFFA     Bilikisu Oniyangi     Segun Adeniyi     Lola Olabayo     Oyeyemi Olasumbo Florence     Oye Tinuoye     Aliyu Olatunji Ajanaku     Mubarak Oladosu     Alfa Yahaya Road     Olayinka Are     GANZY     Sobi FM     Prince Bola Ajibola     Oke-opin     Razak Atunwa     Abdulrahman Abdullahi Kayode     IFK     Abdulrazaq Sanni     Akanbi-Oke     VADA     Bola Shagaya     Raliat Elelu-Habeeb     Kayode Issa    

Cloud Tag: What's trending

Click on a word/phrase to read more about it.

Quran     Bolakale Kawu Agaka     Abubakar Olusola Saraki     Funmilayo Zubair     Muftau Akanbi Oke     Abdulrasheed Lafia     Bluenile Associates     Yemi Osinbajo     IQRA College     Waziri Yakubu Gobir     Kulende-UITH     Abdulganiyu AbdulAzeez     Idris Amosa Oladipo Saidu     David Adesina     Sardauna Of Ilorin     Titus Suberu-Ajibola     Students Union Government     Akom Construction And Engineering Synergy Ltd     Kawu Baraje     Abdulrasaq Alaro     Hassan Abdulazeez Elewu     Afolayan     Millennium Development Goals     Sidikat Akaje     Oba Sulaiman Asude     Akande Idowu Ayoola Muhammed     Aminat Ahmed     Umar Ahmed Gunu     John Olajide Adedipe     Ibikunle Ogunleye     Abdullah Janet Amudat     ANCOPPS     Garba Ado Sanni     Isiaka Yusuf     Dar-Al-Handasah Consultants     Abdulrosheed Okiki     Folorunsho Erubu     Hamidat Sulyman-Yusuf     Kwara North     Mutawali     NURTW     KWATMA     Omu Aran     Ayodele Shittu     Elerinjare     Kwara State Fire Service     Muritala Olarewaju     New Nigeria People’s Party     KWSIEC     Jalala     Mujtabah Bature     Kanu Agabi     Aishatu Ahmed Gobir     Oke-Odo     Sheikh Ridhwanullah El-ilory     Risikat Lawal     Yakub Ali-Agan     Amada Jidda     Olomu Of Omu-Aran     Igbomina     Lanre Aremu     Ahmed \'Lateef     Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board     Earlyon Technologies     Biliaminu Aliu     Savannah Centre For Diplomacy, Democracy And Development     Quareeb     Special Adviser On Digital Innovation     Idowu Laro     Chief Imam Of Lafiagi     Park     Sanitation Exercise     Jawondo     Rueben Parejo     Oro Grammar School Old Students Association     Abdulsalam A. Yusuf     Baakini