National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) is gearing up to launch the second phase of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program.
Gatekeepers News reports that Rufai Garba, the Director of Disease Control and Immunization at NPHCDA, made this announcement during a one-day sensitization meeting with women’s religious groups in Abuja.
The NPHCDA, in collaboration with Girl Effect Nigeria, organized the meeting.
In the first phase of the HPV vaccination, which was launched by the federal government in October 2023, over seven million girls aged nine to 14 were targeted.
The vaccination aims to prevent infection by certain types of human papillomavirus, which is a common sexually transmitted infection that can lead to various health conditions, including cervical cancer.
The second phase of the vaccination program will cover Anambra, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Kwara, Kogi, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Yobe, and Zamfara states. Despite the challenges, the country has already started distributing the vaccine to the states, with the exercise set to commence on May 27.
Rufai Garba expressed optimism about the public’s cooperation with the vaccination program, despite the resistance from anti-vaccine groups during the first phase.
“These groups disseminated misinformation, including quality videos aimed at discouraging vaccination,” he said.
He said pre-emptive public sensitisation is important to checkmate misinformation, drawing lessons from past experiences with polio vaccine resistance.
