The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched a targeted awareness campaign in Osun State aimed at increasing the uptake of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among nine-year-old girls.
Ngozi Izuora-Songu, UNICEF’s Adolescent Development Specialist, made this known over the weekend during a two-day workshop organised to sensitise media professionals and key stakeholders on the initiative.
Izuora-Songu revealed that the campaign will focus on five local government areas where HPV vaccine coverage has been particularly low. She emphasised the importance of the initiative in improving uptake and protecting young girls from cervical cancer.
“We are in Osun because we have observed poor HPV vaccine uptake in certain local government areas, especially among nine-year-old girls,” she said.
“This workshop marks the beginning of our renewed efforts to strengthen the vaccination campaign and ensure sustained progress.”
She explained that vaccinating girls at the age of nine is a proactive measure to prevent cervical cancer—one of the most common cancers affecting women in Nigeria, second only to breast cancer.
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Izuora-Songu urged parents to allow their daughters to be vaccinated, describing the intervention as vital for their future health.
Supporting the campaign, Aderonke Akinola-Akinwole, UNICEF’s Social and Behavioural Change Specialist, highlighted the vaccine’s effectiveness when administered early in life.
“This is more than a health initiative it is a basic right of every girl child,” she said.
“My role is to ensure that every stakeholder and parent understands the benefits of the vaccine and has access to it.”
She also addressed widespread misinformation surrounding the vaccine, particularly rumours linking it to infertility and population control.
“Some people believe the vaccine causes infertility or is a tool for population control. These are completely unfounded myths,” she noted.
“We encourage parents to look ahead to a future where their daughters are protected from cervical cancer and empowered to live healthy lives.”
The HPV vaccine campaign forms part of UNICEF’s wider efforts to promote adolescent health and uphold children’s rights especially those of girls through preventative healthcare and accurate public awareness.
