The Lagos state government has embarked on massive awareness campaign at grassroots level, as an effort to boost the uptake of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPVV).
Earlier, the Lagos state government announced it has reached 478,528 girls with the vaccine as at August, 2024, while aiming to reach one million girls with cancer-blocking HPV shot by year’s end.
To achieve this target, the director of health education and health promotion services, Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board (LSPHCB), Honfor Adesola, who spoke at a townhall meeting organised by LSPHCB and the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria with support from Pathfinder International, said there is need to tackle social media misinformation about the HPVV.
Adesola however lamented that due to the misinformation on social media, some parents have negative perceptions about the vaccine that prevents the uptake of HPV. “We have been able to overcome that because of the continuous sensitisation during which we are giving stakeholders the appropriate information.
“We also refer them to websites where they can get appropriate information.
“Lagos state is part of the first phase of states to implement HPV vaccination in 2023. It has helped because some parents are bringing their girls to take the vaccine because they saw that the all-girls that took the vaccine last year are healthy,” the director stated.
While expressing her appreciation to Pathfinder International for supporting the programme, Adesola said that through their support they have been able to have home meetings with the community where they can bring together the traditional rulers including the ‘Baales,’ community development chairmen (CDC) and religious leaders.
