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To reduce the mortality rate of women in Nasarawa State, the Federal Government has begun a vaccination of young girls between the ages of nine and 14 years against the Human Papilloma Virus which is responsible for cervical cancer in women.
In Nigeria, an estimated 14,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and over 7,900 women die from the disease every year.
The HPV is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract, mainly transmitted through sexual contact, and most people become infected with HPV shortly after the onset of sexual activity.
Speaking at a one-day stakeholders’ engagement for the introduction of the HPV vaccine in Lafia on Thursday, the Executive Secretary of Nasarawa State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Mohammed Usman Addis, said the aim of the vaccination was to completely eradicate cervical cancer in the state.
The Executive Secretary who was represented by the Deputy Director of Immunisation and Programme Manager of the State Emergency Routine Immunisation Coordination Centre, Ayuba Ismaila, explained that Nasarawa State was one of the 16 states that would administer the first batch of the vaccine in the country beginning from September 25, 2023.
He expressed gratitude to the Federal Government for considering the state to partake in the vaccination exercise, adding that the efforts of the government would help reduce the mortality rate of young girls and women in the state.
“It is a thing of Joy that the federal government through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, worked towards introducing the HPV vaccine in the country. The vaccine when administered, will stop the agony that women have been experiencing as a result of cervical cancer.
“Here in Nasarawa State, we are hopeful that by the year 2030, 90 per cent of girls within the age bracket of nine to 14 years will be fully vaccinated against the HPV. The vaccine is very safe for use and it has the capacity to protect a female for her lifetime.
“So, we are urging all our young females to take the vaccination exercise very seriously because it is a life-saving opportunity that would guarantee good health for them both now and in the future,” Ismaila added.
Earlier in his speech, a representative of the World Health Organisation, Ezenwanne Christopher, explained that the vaccination exercise was important owing to the fact that cervical cancer had killed many young females in the country.
He said, “HPV is dangerous in such a way that out of 10 females infected with the disease, only two might have the chance to survive. Parents and guardians should ensure that their children partake in the vaccination exercise as soon as it begins across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state.”
The PUNCH reports that participants at the engagement meeting, include members of the Nigerian Medical Association, Nigerian Labour Congress, Christian Association of Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists, and Muslim representatives, among others.
