GHS targets 2.2m girls for HPV vaccine

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will administer a single dose of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to 2.2 million adolescent girls across the country.

The one-week intensive national immunisation campaign, scheduled for September this year, is to protect young girls from cervical cancer, a widespread preventable disease.

As part of the routine immunisation programme, the HPV vaccine will be offered free of charge to girls aged nine to 14.

This came to light at a stakeholders’ meeting in Accra yesterday.

The meeting brought together representatives of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), GHS, the Ministry of Health, school administrators, government officials, civil society organisations, community leaders, and development partners to discuss strategies for effective vaccine deployment.

The campaign will target both in-school and out-of-school girls, and will deploy a range of strategies, including outreach services, camp-outs and community-based health planning and services (CHPS) compounds, to reach hard-to-reach areas.

The HPV vaccine rollout is supported by the Ministry of Health and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Background

The HPV vaccine is a safe and effective immunisation that protects against the virus, a major cause of cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women globally and the second in Ghana. About 604,000 new cases and 341,800 deaths are recorded per year globally.

Studies show that 99 per cent of cervical cancer cases are linked to high-risk HPV strains, which are among the common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) worldwide.

Collective efforts

The Acting Director-General of GHS, Professor Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, urged Ghanaians to unite in a collective effort to prevent the deadly disease, as the country prepared to expand its HPV vaccination programme nationwide.

He said the vaccine had been proven to prevent up to 70 per cent of cervical cancers and that it was being administered to girls as part of the government’s national routine vaccinations.

“This move follows years of successful trials in specific regions, with the vaccine initially rolled out in Greater Accra, Central, and Northern Ghana in 2013,” he added.

Prof. Akoriyea reassured the public of the safety of the vaccine, citing the rigorous vetting processes of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), which had passed the HPV vaccine as safe for use.

“This is a government initiative that will cost no money for the recipients.

It is free of charge, and we are committed to making sure every girl in Ghana has access,” the GHS Director-General said.

Evidence

The Deputy Programmer Manager of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) of GHS, Dr Naziru Tanko Mohammed, said emerging evidence had shown that a single dose of the vaccine was just as effective as the traditional multi-dose schedules, adding that “this allows us to reach a larger number of girls with the same level of protection”.

He stressed the importance of reaching every eligible girl within the time frame, saying, “Our estimates indicate that about 437,000 girls will turn nine within 2025.

By the end of the year, we aim to reach and vaccinate all of them. We will put mechanisms in place to ensure no girl is left behind”.

Dr Tanko said training materials had been developed and training sessions for health workers at all levels were scheduled for July and August.

The GHS said the service had conducted a study to assess the behavioural drivers of caregivers and adolescents towards HPV vaccine uptake, which was guiding the development of interventions to address concerns, such as vaccine safety and efficacy.

“We are co-creating these interventions to ensure that, come September, any doubts or misinformation will have been addressed,” he added.

Dr Tanko said the country had considered adding HPV to routine vaccination as part of a comprehensive approach to the prevention of cervical cancer for over a decade.

He said approximately 70 per cent of women with the cancer in the country were diagnosed when the tumours had progressed to advanced stages. 

Dr Tanko urged stakeholders, especially school authorities, to make school premises available for vaccination teams and facilitate pre-registration of eligible girls to ensure a smooth and efficient process when the teams arrive. 

Engagement

The Director of Public Health, GHS, Dr Franklin Asiedu-Bekoe, in his remarks, said the high-level engagement meeting was to build consensus and strengthen collaboration.

“This meeting is a clear demonstration of the long-standing partnership between health and education — two sectors that are working hand in hand to shape the future of our generation,” he said.

Dr Asiedu-Bekoe underscored the role of intersectoral partnerships in protecting the health and well-being of young adults and also safeguarding the country’s future.

The Acting Director-General of GES, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, in a speech read on his behalf by the Director of the School Health Education Programme, GES, Theresa Oppong Mensah, expressed support for the HPV vaccine rollout, describing it as a vital investment in the health, dignity and future of young girls.

He said that comprehensive training programmes would be rolled out for teachers and school health coordinators to ensure they were fully prepared to support the campaign.

Prof. Davis said GES would collaborate with Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), school boards, traditional leaders, and community-based organisations to demystify the vaccine and ensure high participation across all districts.