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Opportunities for increasing uptake and awareness of HPV vaccination in the Nigerian context

Oluwafunmilola James

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American Cancer Society (ACS)
Cervical cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Nigerian women, even though it is one of the most preventable of all cancers. Worldwide, Nigeria ranks 10th in terms of cervical cancer mortality and 5th in terms of death counts due to cervical cancer.1 Of the 14,550 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in women 15-44 years of age annually in Nigeria, as many as 9,659 of them die of cervical cancer.1 This amounts to the fact that about 64 of every 100 Nigerian women diagnosed with cervical cancer in one year lose their lives. Nigeria has as many as 47.72 Million women aged 15 years and above who are at risk of cervical cancer. In Nigeria, 21% of young female (15-24years) have had sex before the age of 15 years while 7% of male have had sex before the age of 15 years. The first age of sexual intercourse among Nigerian women (25-49years) is 16.2 years while among men (25-54years) is 20.7 years. 2 Unlike other developing Countries, Nigeria has still not been able to access GAVI funding for HPV because the Country has recently graduated from GAVI eligibility due to its increased Gross National Index above $1,580 and also due to the fact that the Country’s DPT3 (Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus) vaccine coverage is 41%, a far cry from the 70% National coverage required by GAVI Alliance to access HPV vaccination.2 As a response to these challenges, BWS launched a school-based cervical cancer vaccination awareness initiative to increase awareness and uptake of the HPV vaccines among school-aged girls in private schools in Nigeria by encourage parents to sponsor vaccination of their children in school. A one-day cervical cancer vaccination awareness event was launched in Lagos in June 2014 to increase awareness among heads of private schools. The Phase II of this project is therefore relevant because it seeks to identify reasons why the Phase I of the project did not increase uptake of the vaccines in the schools as expected, with the aim of obtaining information that will help BWS to make informed decisions while revising the school-based cervical cancer vaccination awareness initiative. The phase II of the project will also provide information which will be shared with all relevant stakeholders at local, state, national and international level. REFERENCES 1. Cervical cancer free coalition. Available online at http://www.cervicalcancerfreecoalition.org/cervical-cancer-global-crisis-card/. Accessed July 16, 2015 2. Owoaje ET, Uchendu OC. Sexual risk behaviour of street youths in south west Nigeria. East Afr J Public Health. 2009;6(3):274-9.

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