Pakistan has become the latest country to launch a vaccination campaign against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) to protect adolescent girls from cervical cancer in later stages of their lives.
HPV vaccination is the most effective way to tackle cervical cancer, stopping around 90 per cent of cases.
In 2006, France and the US became the first countries to routinely vaccinate adolescent girls against HPV, according to Our World In Data. Since then, HPV vaccination campaigns have been adopted by over 150 countries around the world.
Speaking at the launch, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal, said: “I urge all parents to ensure their daughters and sisters are vaccinated.”
The Pakistan vaccination campaign was developed in partnership with the global vaccine alliance Gavi, UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
Thabani Maphosa, country officer at Gavi, said: “We now have the chance to reshape the future of women’s health in the country, giving millions of girls the power to protect their lives and pursue their dreams.”
The campaign will target girls aged 9–14 years old across Punjab, Sindh, Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, and Islamabad from today (15 September).
The objective is to vaccinate at least 90 per cent of 13 million eligible girls during this campaign and integrate the vaccine into routine immunization for nine-year-old girls in subsequent years.