GHS begins vaccination against HVP nationwide today

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says it will begin its nationwide vaccination campaign on Thursday, targeting over 2.5 million. young girls against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

In the Greater Accra Region campaign will take place in 29 districts, covering over 300,000 young girls between age 9 to 14 years across the region. The vaccination would be done in schools, churches, mosques, markets and places where people gather for social and economic activities.

This was disclosed at the regional media engagement on the HPV vaccination campaign held in Accra on the theme, “Protect Your Girl Child Against Cervical Cancer.”

Dr. Robert Amesiya, Acting Accra Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), said the vaccination of the HPV vaccine to young girls would protect them against the human papilloma virus.

He said a single dose of the Gardasil 4 (HPV) vaccine that would be administered to the young girls would protect them for life.

“Now our vaccination is going to be a single dose vaccination. So when you get it once, you will be protected for life,” he added.

Dr. Amesiya said the Gardasil 4 vaccination would be a continuous programme because there were enough vaccines stocked.

“It’s not a one-off thing. So people should not get anxious,” he said.

Dr Amesiya stressed that the HPV was a worrying phenomenon that affected mostly the pelvic area of women.

“The cervix is just like the doorway to the womb of a woman. So if you are infected with this human papilloma virus, your risk of getting cancer is very high.”

He mentioned that if HPV infected people with weak immune systems, they were likely to develop cervical cancer.

“If you are immunocompromised and infected with the human papilloma virus, you are likely to develop a cervical cancer earlier than someone who isn’t.”

Mrs. Eunice Joan Teah Dzagli, Regional Health Promotion Manager, stressed that beyond the campaign, the public would be given the opportunity to be vaccinated.

“If you miss the school session for any reason, you can always go to the routine centres to get your child vaccinated.”

The Human Papilloma Virus vaccination is a collaborative campaign led by the Government of Ghana to vaccinate young girls in the country against cervical cancer. The campaign aims to protect young girls aged 9 to 14 years from infections from HPV.

It is a single-dose vaccine that will protect young girls from cancer of the vagina, vulva and anus. It also protects them from contracting mouth, throat, head and neck cancers.

The objective of the vaccination campaign is to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in Ghana, aligning with the World Health Organization’s global strategy.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Ghana.

Source: GNA