Nigeria introduces HPV vaccine into routine immunisation.

The Nigerian government has introduced the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into the routine immunisation system to target over seven million girls, which is the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.

Girls aged nine to 14 years will receive a single dose of the vaccine, which is highly efficacious in preventing infection with HPV types 16 and 18 that are known to cause at least 70 per cent of cervical cancers.

In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the third most common cancer and the second most frequent cause of cancer deaths among women aged between 15 and 44 years. In 2020, Nigeria recorded 12,000 new cases and 8,000 deaths from cervical cancer.

Speaking at the launch in Abuja, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said the loss of about 8,000 Nigerian women a year from a disease that is preventable is unacceptable.

'Cervical cancer is mostly caused by HPV, and parents can avoid physical and financial pain by protecting their children with a single dose of the vaccine.

Saving lives, producing quality health outcomes, and protecting the wellbeing of Nigerians are central to the renewed health agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

'The onset of the vaccination campaign is an opportunity to safeguard our girls from the scourge of cervical cancers many years into the future. As a parent myself, I have four daughters, and all of them have had the same HPV vaccine to protect them against cervical cancer.

'I would like to implore fellow parents to dutifully ensure that this generation of our girls disrupts the preventable loss of lives to cervical cancer in addition to other untold hardship, loss, and pain,' Pate said.

Meanwhile, the WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Mulombo, said this is a pivotal moment in...