{"id":3078,"date":"2026-08-04T01:00:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=3078"},"modified":"2026-08-04T01:02:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T00:02:19","slug":"global-hpv-vaccine-breakthrough-nigerias-uneven-access-to-preventive-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=3078","title":{"rendered":"Global HPV Vaccine Breakthrough, Nigeria\u2019s Uneven Access To Preventive Care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Goodness Agidy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A global shift to a single-dose HPV vaccine has made cervical cancer prevention cheaper and simpler, yet millions of Nigerian girls still lack reliable access to the shot, underscoring wider gaps in the country\u2019s preventive medicine system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nigeria introduced the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into its routine immunisation programme in October 2023, aiming to reach 7.7 million girls aged 9\u201314 in what was described as the largest single round of HPV vaccinations in Africa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rollout used a phased approach, 16 states in 2023 and 21 more in 2024, and since then about 17 million girls have received at least one dose, according to recent reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health officials say the single-dose schedule is a major breakthrough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The vaccine is highly effective at preventing infection from HPV types that cause at least 70 per cent of cervical cancers, and it is provided free at public primary health centres under support from Gavi, UNICEF and WHO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 2025, routine vaccination is expected to focus on 9\u2011year\u2011old girls, with older girls who missed the campaigns able to get the vaccine at health facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But access remains uneven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The national rollout targeted only public facilities, meaning people who rely on private clinics must pay out of pocket to receive the vaccine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misinformation, limited public engagement, and high costs for screening and treatment also hamper uptake and long-term programme scaling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 17 million vaccinated girls is still far short of the estimated 60 million eligible, and below the World Health Organization\u2019s target of 90 per cent coverage by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Delta State University Health Centre, staff said the campaign has been vigorously implemented despite the large turnout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBased on my assessment and my visit to the clinic, I think they are very serious about it. Despite the population that came for the vaccine, they attended to everyone; they are really serious about it,\u201d said Mrs. Omorodion, who works in the health centre\u2019s drug dispensary unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she cautioned against complacency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Nigeria can celebrate zero fertility rate to cervical cancer, at least not now,\u201d she said, pointing to persistent gaps in coverage, screening and treatment that keep the disease a major public health threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the question of whether Nigeria is being sidelined in the global distribution of preventive medicine, Mrs. Omorodion said the issue is not international neglect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Nigeria is not being prioritized in the availability of preventive medicine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If we say we want to contribute financially and human resources to world health bodies for Nigeria to receive greater attention, fine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But that\u2019s not why we are not being prioritized,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She identified domestic constraints, especially finance, governance and fraud, as the main barriers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe issues in the availability of preventive medicine, especially the HPV [vaccine], are finance, the people in charge and fraud,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinancially we are capable; Nigeria is wealthy, but the money is being diverted to other resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates say the situation reflects a broader challenge: Nigeria often adopts effective preventive tools slowly and unevenly, with urban\u2013rural and rich\u2013poor divides shaping who benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are calling for stronger public awareness, better data systems and sustained funding to move from one-off campaigns to routine, equitable access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Goodness Agidy A global shift to a single-dose HPV vaccine has made cervical cancer prevention cheaper and simpler, yet millions of Nigerian girls still lack reliable access to the shot, underscoring wider gaps in the country\u2019s preventive medicine system. Nigeria introduced the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine into its routine immunisation programme in October 2023, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":32,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,14],"tags":[33,28],"class_list":["post-3078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-healthcorner","category-trendingnews","tag-health","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3078"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3081,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3078\/revisions\/3081"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3079"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}