The Director of Health Education and Health Promotion Services at the Lagos State Primary Healthcare Board (LSPHCB), Mrs Grace Adesola Honfor has said that due to the misinformation on social media some parents have negative view about the vaccine that prevents Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV).
She made this statement during a HPV Lagos Mainland LGA Town Hall meeting organized by the LSPHCB with support from the Pathfinder International.
The forum brought together the representatives of the Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria, community leaders including heads of traditional and religious institutions, market women, among others from the Lagos Mainland LGA.
The meeting was aimed at sensitizing the participants about the dangers inherent in the HPV and how to mitigate its impact with the administration of vaccine.
According to the director of Health Education and Health Promotion at the LSPHCB, the Lagos State Government is working assiduously to counter the misinformation hindering vaccine uptake.
Honfor said, “We have been able to overcome that because of the continuous sensitization during which we are giving stakeholders the appropriate information.”
We also refer them to websites where they can get appropriate information, she said. HPV is the name of a very common group of viruses.
They do not cause any problems in most people, but some types can cause genital warts or cancer. HPV affects the skin. There are more than 100 different types. The HPV is transferred primarily by skin-to-skin contact.
Genital HPV infections are contracted through sexual intercourse, anal sex and other skin-to-skin contact in the genital region. Some HPV infections that result in oral or upper respiratory lesions are contracted through oral sex.
Part of the reasons many are rejecting the vaccine is based on misinformation and disinformation being disseminated by antivaccine advocates so as to prevent the uptake of vaccines.
According to Honfor, Lagos State is part of the first phase of states to implement HPV vaccination in 2023. It has helped because some parents are bringing their girls to take the vaccine because they saw that all the girls that took the vaccine last year are healthy.
She further expressed appreciation to Pathfinder International for supporting the programme, stating that through the support of the agency the state has been able to have meetings with the community where they bring together the traditional rulers including the ‘Baales,’ community development chairmen (CDC) and religious leaders. She added that the vaccination is for girl-child between the age of nine and 14 years.
The Assistant Immunization Programme Coordinator, LSPHCB, Dr. Adebanjo Adeniji said that vaccine hesitancy is the difficulty Lagos State has been facing, in terms of getting people to uptake the vaccines. He added: “This stakeholders engagement meeting, we believe is going to be one of the reasons or one of the factors that will help us to reduce this hesitancy.
Adeniji further added that “If the community buy-in has been obtained, then it automatically means that people within the community will be able to come out and take this vaccine.”
According to him, the state is planning to extend the period of accessing the vaccine so that children will be able to get the vaccine.
And they are looking towards the ending of next year. He noted that the vaccines are free, safe and efficacious. He attested that the vaccine is available for everyone but noted that ones the state government is sponsoring is just for young girls between the ages of nine to 14 years.
The President of the Medical Women Association of Nigeria, Lagos State Branch Dr. Funmi Ige who was one of the participants at the town hall meeting said that HPV vaccine has been dedicated to be a causative factor in cervical cancer.
According to her, cervical cancer is the cancer of the cervix and the HPV has been detected to be a causative factor, especially in women of reproductive age and women that are sexually active.
“The idea is that the vaccine is to help to reduce the burden of cervical cancer in women. Breast cancer is the highest killer of cancer in women, cervical cancer is the second,” said Ige.
She added that if young girls are handled well with proper education and upbringing both at home, in schools and in the community they are not likely to be sexually active. She further added that “If they do get the vaccine, the chances of them getting cervical cancer when they become sexually active will be very low.”
Another participant in the meeting, the Chairman, Lagos Mainland Local Government, Salako Muheez Babatunde said that Human Papillomavirus is the most transmitted sexually transmitted infection in the world and it’s a virus that affects both genders.
Chairman of the Ward Health Committee (WSA), Lagos-Mainland, Asunramu Muibat Olarenwaju also encouraged everyone to create awareness about the vaccine. He said, “Everybody should go to his or her own house and community and tell them about this HPV, how important it is and that the HPV vaccine is safe and is good for our children to take.”