NIGERIA has officially introduced a vaccine program against the human papillomavirus virus (HPV) into Nigeria’s routine immunisation system, a pivotal moment in the country’s fight against cervical cancer-related deaths.
The Gavi-led initiative is supported by the Ministry of Health (MOH), the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, SYDANI, and various civil society organizations.
A five-day mass vaccination campaign in schools and communities heralded the campaign. Under the campaign, Gardasil will be administered to girls between the ages of 9 to 14 years. The vaccine is known for its high effectiveness in preventing HPV types 16 and 18 infections, responsible for a minimum of 70% of cervical cancers.
“We still try to get the child to know the importance of that vaccine. And when they go back home they should let even the parents know and if they missed it this time around next time they should not miss it. Because some parents are afraid of things like Cultism and such. So some parents do not welcome such ideas and we try to enlighten them about the HPV Vaccine,” said Jaafaru Madaki, the principal of a school in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Gavi had previously suspended funding for programs in Nigeria because the country lacked a government-sanctioned and structured immunization program for HPV vaccines.
Nigeria will now have direct access to Gavi funds, giving the country the flexibility to request or demand support for primary healthcare matters, especially concerning vaccines and related services. The vaccines are administered completely free.
“So the response we are seeing is quite positive though sometimes not exactly how we expect it to go but we are getting a largely positive response from community members, from schools, from parents, especially from the educated ones we are seeing a lot of good response because they know what this means. For the more rural and remote areas a lot of work to go and engage with the traditional and religious leaders to make sure they are also able to go and pass the message to their subjects and make sure they get it,” Sydney Sampson, the SYDANI group’s CEO and global managing partner.
Apart from the vaccine roll-out, Gavi has also pioneered an approach to co-financing vaccination programs. Countries share the costs of the vaccine programmes by directly co-procuring a portion of the vaccines and safe injection devices.
