The Federal Government has vaccinated more than 18 million adolescent girls against the Human Papillomavirus, representing about 76 per cent of its target population, as Nigeria intensifies efforts to eliminate cervical cancer.
The Director of Disease Control and Immunisation at the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Rufai Garba, disclosed this on Tuesday at a strategic policy roundtable organised by MSD in partnership with Africa Health Business in Abuja.
Garba said Nigeria had made significant progress since introducing the HPV vaccine into the national immunisation programme in October 2023, but stressed that vaccination alone would not be enough to eliminate cervical cancer.
He said Nigeria had recorded about 12,000 new cervical cancer cases annually, with nearly 8,000 women dying from the disease each year. He therefore called for greater emphasis on screening, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
According to him, the HPV vaccine is provided free to eligible nine-year-old girls through public health facilities, while private facilities can administer the vaccine to people outside the routine target age.
Garba identified the difficulty of getting healthy girls into health facilities for preventive vaccination as one of the programme’s challenges. He said the government had adopted school-based vaccination, outreach campaigns and other strategies to improve coverage.
He also disclosed that vaccine stock levels were being monitored through a logistics dashboard to enable redistribution to states where demand was higher. He added that solar-powered cold-chain equipment had been deployed to some primary healthcare centres to strengthen vaccine storage.
The NPHCDA director urged journalists to investigate reports of private health facilities charging for HPV vaccines supplied free by the government. He said facilities found selling government-provided vaccines could have their supplies withdrawn.
Meanwhile, the Director of External Affairs for Sub-Saharan Africa at MSD, Vuyo Mjekula, called for stronger private-sector participation in Nigeria’s cervical cancer elimination efforts.
Mjekula said greater collaboration among government agencies, healthcare providers, civil society organisations and private companies could help expand access to vaccination, screening and treatment. She also advocated integrating cervical cancer screening into routine maternal and reproductive healthcare services.
She disclosed that MSD had supported catch-up HPV vaccination for girls up to age 20 who were not covered when the national programme was introduced. She added that the company had invested more than $44m in Nigeria over the past decade through its MSD for Mothers initiative.
Also speaking, the Director of Cancer Prevention and Control at the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment, Dr Usman Muhammad Waziri, said inadequate awareness, affordability and access to quality healthcare remained major barriers to cancer prevention and treatment.
Waziri said NICRAT was implementing the National Initiative for Cancer Early Detection, Screening and Coordinated Access to Network of Care, known as NISCAN, to improve routine screening, diagnosis and referral.
He said the initiative was being piloted in the Federal Capital Territory, with suspected cervical cancer cases referred to the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, for evaluation and diagnosis before treatment or follow-up.
Waziri said Nigeria was working towards the World Health Organisation’s 90-70-90 targets for eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030. He added that government-led cervical cancer screening had commenced in Imo State, with Niger State next in line for expansion.
He further disclosed that the Cancer Health Fund, which supports indigent patients receiving treatment for breast, cervical and prostate cancers, was operating in six facilities but faced funding constraints that limited its reach.
