VACCINE

The Federal Government has introduced the Human Papillomavirus vaccine into the routine immunization system.

The vaccination targets over seven million girls, which is the largest number in a single round of HPV vaccination in the African region.

A statement by the World Health Organization noted that a five-day mass vaccination campaign in schools and communities will be carried out during the inaugural rollout in sixteen states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Girls aged nine to fourteen years will receive a single dose of the vaccine, which is highly efficacious in preventing infection with HPV types sixteen and eighteen that are known to cause at least seventy percent 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 fifteen and forty-four years.