Cervical cancer:  Bauchi, partners organised one-day orientation for Journalists on HPV vaccine

From Paul Orude Bauchi

Bauchi State government in partnership with international partners has organised a one-day orientation for the media on Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine introduction.

In his remark, the Executive Chairman of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSPHCDA), Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, said the meeting was to orient journalists to inform and educate members of the public on the importance of the HPV vaccine.

Mohammed said the state has commenced preparation for the HPV vaccination across the 20 local government areas of the state in the first stage which begins September 25, 2023.

The BSPHDA Executive Chairman disclosed that a technical working group had been set up under his Chairmanship to ensure the success of the campaign.

Mohammed said the BSPHCDA had discussed with officials of the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners on how to carry out the HPV vaccine.

“We hope that when we start the vaccination, we are not going to have much problem because information has already reached members of the public”, he said..

Mohammed said that the agency would use languages that the people can understand to create awareness and pass information about the vaccine so that parents would allow their children to get vaccinated.

According to him, Bauchi has been identified as one of the states where early marriage and teenage pregnancies which contribute to the high rate of cervical cancer are prevalent.

 “We have had a meeting with religious leaders and some traditional leaders on why we want to administer Human Papilloma Vaccine,” he said.

He said that the aim of holding the meeting with the media was to enable journalists ask all the necessary questions on why government intends to carry out the vaccination exercise..

In his presentation, Dr Jaleel Muhammad,  who is the Director, Planning and Statistics of the agency, said the introduction of the vaccine in Nigeria became necessary due to the increased cases of cervical cancer.

Giving an update on HPV vaccine introduction, Dr Muhammad, Director, Planning and Statistics, disclosed that only girls aged 9-14 years old are targeted for the HPV vaccination

On the roll out in September, Muhammed said 16 states namely Abia, Bauchi, Adamawa, Abia, Bayelsa, Benue, Nigeria, Enugu,  Taraba, Kano, FCT, Kebbi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun and Oshun where level of risk of cervical cancer are high have been slated for the third quartre in 2023.

Also presenting a paper with entitled ‘Role of Media Practitioners in the roll-out of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine Campaign’, State Technical Officer HPV Introduction, World Health Organization (WHO) for Bauchi, Mustapha Mai-Iyali Umar urged journalists to actively involved in ensuring that the vaccination exercise succeeds.

Mai-Iyali called on the media to actively support the state technical working group by reporting its activities while working in synergy to develop, adapt and translate inter-education and communication (IEC) for the HPV vaccine.

He further appealed to the media to support the effort through Information dissemination using various outlets and platforms, among others