The Nakuru government has launched a campaign to dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding HPV vaccination in order to increase its acceptance.
HPV vaccination serves as a crucial preventive measure against cervical cancer, a disease caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, ranking as the second most common cancer in women.
The vaccination campaign is currently ongoing in Nakuru, with the county’s chief officer for nursing, Wendy Tirop, attributing the low uptake of the vaccine to prevalent myths and misconceptions. In Nakuru County, only 50 percent of the targeted population, which includes girls aged 10 to 14 years, have received the vaccine.
Tirop highlighted the challenge health workers face in obtaining consent from underage beneficiaries. To combat misinformation surrounding the vaccine, the county government is actively engaging in community-level sensitization efforts.
“Vaccination of our girls with the HPV vaccine is the only sure way of fighting cervical cancer. We have to protect the future generation by vaccinating our girls. It is worrying that the disease is killing people left, right and centre, yet we are not utilising the solution with us,” Tirop said.
She spoke during a data review meeting on the county’s immunisation coverage.
The vaccine is available for free in all public health facilities. Private hospitals, however, charge from Sh20,000 for a dose.
“We must redouble our efforts to increase the uptake of the HPV vaccine. Protecting our children from preventable diseases is paramount and we have the power to make a difference,” Tirop said.
Besides vaccination, she said, the county is training and equipping health workers to effectively screen cervical cancer and offer pre-cancer treatment.
“It is now possible for women to get screened and treated at subcounty hospitals. Further tests can be referred to the Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital, where there is a histology lab,” Tirop said.
The national government introduced HPV vaccination in 2019 following a successful pilot program in Kitui from 2013 to 2015. The Ministry of Health aimed to vaccinate 3.2 million girls nationwide by June 2023. However, only 1.7 million girls, or 53 percent, have received the vaccine, with 876,800 (27.4 percent) receiving the second dose.
Leading counties in vaccine uptake for the first dose include Nyandarua, Nyeri, Bungoma, Nyamira, Kirinyaga, Siaya, Vihiga, and Taita Taveta. Conversely, West Pokot, Marsabit, Samburu, Turkana, Isiolo, Wajir, Garissa, and Mandera have the lowest uptake, with only 20 percent of targeted girls vaccinated.
Cervical cancer ranks as the fourth most common cancer among women globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The global strategy to accelerate cervical cancer elimination mandates that each country vaccinate 90 percent of girls by age 15 and screen 70 percent of women by ages 35 and 45.
WHO recommends comprehensive cervical cancer control, encompassing primary prevention (HPV vaccination), secondary prevention (screening and treating precancerous lesions), and tertiary prevention (diagnosis, treatment of invasive cervical cancer, and palliative care). Tirop noted that HPV causes approximately 99 percent of cervical cancer cases, often diagnosed at age 25 or younger.
“My conversation with parents and guardians is that it is irresponsible to fail to take our girls for the vaccine. Cervical cancer is not a disease to wish on anybody. It bleeds and kills, and needs not to happen,” she said.
