OVER 80 per cent of Nigerian girls aged nine to 14 are expected to receive the Human Papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) against cervical cancer by December 2024, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, May 21, at a two-day media dialogue in Lagos, UNICEF’s Health Specialist, Ijeoma Agbo, said HPV “is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract and causes more than 95 per cent of cases of cervical cancer.”
The media dialogue had the theme: “Combating the Most Preventable Form of Deadly Cancer Affecting Women and Girls Through Vaccination”.
Developed in a woman’s cervix (the entrance to the uterus from the vagina), almost all cervical cancer cases (99 per cent) are linked to infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV), a widespread virus transmitted through sexual contact.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women, with around 660,000 new cases and around 350,000 deaths in 2022.
Although it is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, WHO said effective primary (HPV vaccination) and secondary prevention approaches would prevent most cervical cancer cases.
Meanwhile, Agbo said with collaboration among stakeholders against HPV infection, Nigeria might prevent persistent infection with high risk types.
She further noted that the high burden of cervical cancer had been attributed to several factors, including poor access to HPV vaccination services, poor screening and treatment, and low awareness among others.
“There are over 100 HPV types that have been identified to date, and two human papillomavirus types (16 and 18) account for about 70 per cent of all cervical cancer cases.
“It is estimated that 604,000 new cases with 342,000 deaths occurred globally in 2020 and an estimated 12,075 cases and 7,968 deaths recorded in Nigeria,” she said
The ICIR reported that the Federal Government in October 2023 introduced the HPV vaccine into its routine immunisation system, aimed to reach 7.7 million girls.
The figure translated to the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.
Girls aged nine to 14 would receive a single dose of the vaccine, which is highly effective in preventing infections with HPV types 16 and 18, known to cause at least 70 per cent of cervical cancers.
In Nigeria, cervical cancer ranks as the third most prevalent cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women aged 15 to 44 years.
In 2020, the country registered 12,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths attributed to cervical cancer, according to the most recent data.
Reacting to the burden of the disease in the country, Agbo said the HPV vaccine roll-out was geared towards eliminating cervical cancer in Nigeria.
She said there was an urgent need for all stakeholders to come together to sensitise Nigerians on the need to take the vaccine.
While speaking on the objective of the HPV vaccine in Nigeria, Agbo said that the main goal was to reduce morbidity and mortality of the condition by providing HPV vaccine to girls between ages nine and 14.
She, however, expressed concern over the spread of misinformation about the vaccine, emphasising that the WHO conducted numerous tests and trials before introducing it.
“We had some other states in the North and East that did much better and even got as far as 70-80 per cent. We found out that what caused this was the distrust in the system and a lot of misinformation which went around even on social media”, she said.
On his part, the Immunisation Programme Coordinator of the Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Dr Adetola Akinpelu, said the state had so far vaccinated 44.8 per cent of the targeted population.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M