Dr. Adebayo Adeniji, Assistant Immunization Officer of the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, appealed to parents to ensure their daughters, aged 9-14, receive the free HPV vaccine before the end of 2024.
He explained that, as of January 1, 2025, only 9-year-old girls will be eligible for the vaccine at Primary Healthcare Centres.
Dr. Adeniji made this plea during a town hall meeting and sensitization program with stakeholders and community leaders in Agege and Orile Agege Local Government Areas, organized by the LSPHCB in collaboration with the Medical Women Association and supported by Pathfinder International.
Adeniji explained, “Every state has till the end of this year. The National Policy still states that whatever mass vaccination campaign for HPV ends this year. We have started routinisation although they are still in phases, that is the reason we have the leeway to vaccinate girls ages nine to 14 now.
“After December 31, only girls just turning 9 years old would be vaccinated. By January 1, 2025, routinisation has automatically set in and routine vaccines have only a specific age so from next year, only nine-year-olds will be given the vaccines.”
Dr. Adebayo Adeniji, Assistant Immunization Officer of the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board, stressed the importance of vaccinating girls aged 10-14 against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) before 2025.
He noted that the goal is to vaccinate over 80% of girls in this age group by the end of 2024. HPV, a common virus transmitted through sexual contact, causes 99% of cervical cancer cases globally, resulting in 350,000 deaths in 2022.
However, cervical cancer can be cured if diagnosed and treated early, and vaccination and screening are effective prevention strategies.
In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer among women aged 15-44, with 12,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths recorded in 2020. To combat this, the Nigerian government introduced the single-dose HPV vaccine in October 2023, aiming to vaccinate 7.7 million girls.
The United Nations Children’s Fund has procured 15 million HPV vaccines to protect over 16 million girls by 2025.
Dr. Adeniji dispelled rumors about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness, reassuring participants that it is safe and encourages community leaders to promote its uptake.
Dr. Funmi Ige, President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch, emphasized the importance of prioritizing women’s and children’s health, urging participants to ensure their girls receive the HPV vaccine to reduce cervical cancer cases in Nigeria.
“If we take care of our girls who are around the ages of nine to 14, there are chances that they would not have been engaged in sexual activities and if they get the vaccine, the chances of them getting cervical cancer would be minimal. Please let’s allow our girls aged nine to 14 who have not been sexually exposed to get this vaccine, it is free,” Ige said.
Dr. Funmi Ige, President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN), expressed concern over the low turnout and uptake of the HPV vaccine in the state, urging participants to ignore misinformation and rumors surrounding the vaccine.
Similarly, Dr. Esther Dabiri, Medical Officer of Health in Orile Agege, lamented the low uptake of the HPV vaccine and poor attendance for cervical screening services available at Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs).
Bayo Ewuola, Media and Communication Officer at Pathfinder International, noted that Lagos has the lowest HPV vaccine uptake in the country, and announced that his organization is collaborating with the Nigeria Cancer Society and MWAN to increase awareness and uptake.
He offered support for participants’ awareness programs on HPV vaccine uptake.
Ayo Adebusoye, another representative from Pathfinder International, thanked participants for attending and encouraged them to amplify awareness about the HPV vaccine.
