By Rita Iliya

Niger state Ministry of Primary Healthcare has vaccinated no fewer than 444,658 girls against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) during its vaccination campaign.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state inaugurated a campaign on inoculations of more than 500,000 girls against HVP, the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI).

Mr Daniel Jiya, Director, Food and Drugs and Project Manager of the State Emergency Routine Immunisation Coordination Centre (SERICC), disclosed this during the vaccination review meeting in Minna on Wednesday.

He said this achievement had placed Niger State third in Nigeria’s HPV vaccination drive.

“The targeted demographic was girls aged 9-14, chosen because they have reached early adulthood,” he said.

Jiya disclosed that cervical cancer claims 8,000 lives annually in Nigeria, accounting for 95 per cent of deaths among women.

He said HPV vaccine has been proven safe and effective in preventing cervical cancer.

He said the objectives of the meeting was to review HPV vaccine progress, foster collaboration between stakeholders, and address challenges in vaccine delivery.

He emphasised that immunisation was the safest and most cost-effective way to tackle diseases, calling on all to spread the word and ensure children get vaccinated.

Other objectives was to review progress, foster collaboration, address challenges by identifying and mitigating obstacles in vaccine service delivery and strengthen stakeholder involvement.

He, however, said part of the challenges encountered during the campaign was low uptake of the vaccine due to misconceptions and limited awareness

In her goodwill message, Gerida Birukila, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, commended stakeholders for their efforts and urged continued awareness creation to reach areas not reached during the campaign.

Also, Andrea Okeke-Ewewi, representative of Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), commended the efforts in ensuring that over 400,000 eligible girls were vaccinated during the vaccination campaign in Niger state. (NAN)

Edited by Ismail Abdulaziz