The Federal Government has vaccinated more than 18 million adolescent girls against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), representing about 76 per cent of its target population
The Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Rufai Garba, disclosed this on Tuesday at a policy roundtable in Abuja
The meeting, organised by MSD in partnership with Africa Health Business, focused on accelerating efforts to eliminate cervical cancer through vaccination, screening and treatment
Garba said Nigeria had made significant progress since introducing the HPV vaccine into its national immunisation programme in October 2023
“Today, we are around 76 per cent coverage of our target, but in terms of numbers, we have crossed 18 million adolescent girls,” he said
He, however, said vaccination alone would not be enough to eliminate cervical cancer, stressing the need to improve screening, early diagnosis and treatment
Nigeria initially targeted 77 million girls aged nine to 14 during the first phase of the HPV vaccination programme, with support from Gavi, UNICEF, WHO and other partners.
Garba said the vaccine was provided free to eligible girls at public health facilities, while school-based vaccination and outreach programmes had been adopted to improve access
He said Nigeria records about 12,000 new cervical cancer cases annually, with nearly 8,000 women dying from the disease each year
Meanwhile, MSD’s Director of External Affairs for Sub-Saharan Africa, Vuyo Mjekula, called for greater private-sector participation in the fight against cervical cancer
She said stronger partnerships among government, healthcare providers, civil society and private companies were needed to expand vaccination, screening and treatment