The federal government has approved the second phase of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, set to begin on May 27. This announcement was made by Rufai Garba, Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), during a one-day sensitization program in Abuja involving the National Association of Women Journalists and Women Religious Groups.
The first phase of the HPV vaccination campaign, which started on October 24, 2023, targeted over seven million girls aged nine, marking the largest single round of HPV vaccinations in Africa. This phase included 16 states: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Enugu, Jigawa, Kano, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Osun, Taraba, and the Federal Capital Territory.
The upcoming second phase will cover the remaining states: Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara.
HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection and a significant cause of various cancers, including cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women aged 15 to 49. Nigeria reports approximately 12,075 new cases of cervical cancer annually. The vaccination campaign aims to reduce these numbers and improve public health outcomes for young girls across the nation.
