The Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ASPHCDA), says it has put in place a machinery for vaccinating young girls between the ages of 9and 14 against cervical cancer.
The Executive Chairman of ASPHCDA, Suleiman Sa’idu Bashir, stated this during a media parley in Yola, the state capital, on Tuesday.
Bashir explained that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the main causative agent for cervical cancer that has no cure, leading to thousands of death in women.
He reiterated that HPV vaccines were available and couls also be effective before exposure of girls between age 9 and 10 to the virus.
He added that women under older than 14 years will require screening before vaccination.
The EC said the HPV vaccination will take place from 25th to 29th of September, 2023, in some strategic locations in communities also in all public health facilities offering routine immunization.
He said the vaccine is free, safe and effective and urged Adamawa residents to take their wards to the nearest vaccination site adding that “A stitch in time saves nine”.
He called on girls parents to contact these numbers for more information on the HPV vaccination 08065507766, 08038013620 and 08036521796.
Also speaking, the Representative of United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Pharmacist Innocent Udemezue said the scourge is mostly detected at an advanced stage.
State Representative of UNFPA, Dr Idrissa Danladi, said they will continue to lay their support in fighting the scourge within the state.
Dr. Adamu Bell, a Technical Officer at WHO in Adamawa, said cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of maternal death among women.
He praised the ADPHCDA for their timely response to the vaccination.