Cervical cancer is one of the highest causes of death for women in Nigeria. Wives of former and current governors in the country have called on the World Health Organisation, pharmaceutical industries, and lawmakers in developed nations to help ease the girls’ access to HPV vaccination.
“It remains painfully unacceptable that millions of Nigerian and African adolescent girls do not have access to HPV vaccination through our primary healthcare structures,” the First Ladies Against Cancer, FLAC, said in preparation to launch the FLAC Vaccine Access Programme in Abuja on November 16, 2021.
“In Nigeria, cervical cancer is the 3rd most common form of cancer and 2nd most common among women,” added FLAC.
“It accounted for 9.7% of all malignancies in 2020, recording an estimated 12,075 new cases and 7,968 deaths annually.
“These numbers tell the unfortunate reality of cervical cancer in Nigeria and most African countries, a cancer that is largely preventable, treatable, and can be eliminated.”
FLAC also added that the programme will “catalyze access to HPV vaccine for families that can afford out of pocket payment in the immediate term and at the same time, advocating for the inclusion of HPV vaccine into routine immunization to cater for those that can’t afford out of pocket payment.”
“We must place a demand on the pharmaceutical industry, WHO, policymakers in high-income countries, and the African Union to prioritize our girls and address the drivers of this inequity.”
