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The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, announced that during the first phase of the vaccination campaign, approximately 4.95 million girls between the ages of 9 and 14 have received the Human Papillomavirus vaccine(HPV) in 15 states and the Federal Capital Territory .
Pate made this announcement during a sectoral ministerial press briefing in Abuja to commemorate President Bola Tinubu's first year in office.
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a prevalent sexually transmitted infection that can lead to various types of cancers, including cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women aged 15 to 49. Nigeria is responsible for an estimated 12,075 new cases of cervical cancer globally each year.
HPV infection is a major risk factor, associated with 95% of cervical cancer cases. With 12,000 new diagnoses and 8,000 deaths annually, this translates to an average of 33 new cases and 22 deaths from cervical cancer every day in the country.
The Federal Government introduced the Human Papillomavirus vaccine into the routine immunisation system on October 24, 2023, in 15 states, and the FCT.
The first phase encompassed Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Taraba, and the FCT.
The second phase of the HPV vaccination has been scheduled to start on Monday, May 27, in Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara states.
Pate said, “4.95 million girls of age nine to 14 years were vaccinated in 15 states and the FCT in the first phase. That is 80 per cent of those eligible children. It’s among the highest in the world.
“The second phase aiming about six million girls will start on May 27, to make sure that our children in the future do not face the risk of this virus which can cause cervical cancer.”
He noted that the government is also expanding screening and diagnosis of cancer for better treatment.
“In addition, more than five million Nigerian children have received vaccination against diphtheria. If you recall, by August- September, Nigeria was in the middle of the diphtheria outbreak. Now it’s sort of gone by the wayside because there was an intense effort to vaccinate.
“More than 10 million Nigerian children receive tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, while more than 5 million received the pentavalent vaccine which is to protect them and routine vaccinations have continued to be delivered all across the country including the oral polio vaccine which has been provided.
“When meningitis started in Yobe, within two weeks, we were the first country in the world to introduce a pentavalent Meningococcal vaccine, which ringfenced the outbreak, which prevented it from getting out of hand.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said Nigeria and other 15 African countries are carrying out high-performance-based HPV screening tests in line with its recommendations.
The minister added that the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Primary Health Care Development Agency have mounted good surveillance systems to prevent outbreaks of diseases in the country.
