HPV On Rampage, 7m Vulnerable Girls Vaccinated In 2 Weeks

If you say HPV on the rampage in Nigeria, you could be right about this sexually transmitted disease because because  in just two weeks, about seven million Nigerian girls have been vaccinated against it.

HPV stands for Human Papillomavirus, and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has risen to the challenge of containing it.

It provided this perspective in a press statement today, stating that its move is critical to protecting girls from cervical cancer later in life.

Chief Executive Officer of Gavi, Dr Sani Nishtar said: “This achievement is a testament to the tremendous collaboration between Gavi, the Nigerian government, and our partners. By prioritising girls’ health, we are empowering a generation and helping to save countless lives.

Gavi noted that by vaccinating seven million girls in just two weeks against the deadly HPV, Nigeria has made significant progress towards its goal of reaching 16 million girls by 2025.

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It would be recalled that the first phase of the vaccine against HPV was introduced into the routine immunisation system  October of last year.

That initial effort targeted over seven million girls between the ages of nine and 14.

Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory were the target states where obviously the HPV On The Rampage slogan is loudest.

Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara are in the second phase of the programme which rolled off last month.

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About 4.95 million girls aged nine to 14 were vaccinated against the HPV in the first phase of the vaccination, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, has said

The Eagle reports that in some circles, the fear of this ravaging HPV disease is the beginning of wisdom.

Aside the stigma of carrying a sexually transmitted disease, the economy is challenging that many people are afraid of thinking about contracting sex-related diseases at all.