Pakistan: Punjab launches HPV vaccination drive targeting 8 million girls amid challenges in flood-hit areas

The campaign will run from September 15 to 27.

The vaccination drive is part of the global effort to eliminate cervical cancer. Pakistan is a signatory to the 71st World Health Assembly Resolution of 2018, which set the 90-70-90 goal by 2030. The targets aim for 90 per cent of girls to be vaccinated against HPV by age 15, 70 per cent of women to be screened by age 35 and again at 45, and 90 per cent of women diagnosed with cervical cancer to receive treatment or palliative care.

According to Dawn, the vaccine will be administered to girls aged 9 to 14 years and is seen as a critical tool against cervical cancer, which is the third most common cancer in women in Pakistan. A senior official said Punjab's Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) has finalised preparations, with a target of over 8 million girls, including 5.5 million to be vaccinated in schools. However, "vaccination of girls in flood-affected areas, nomadic settings, migrant populations, red light areas could pose a serious challenge," the official noted.

Reaching 2.5 million out-of-school girls remains a particular concern, as floods have damaged school infrastructure across Punjab. Citing World Health Organisation reports, the official said, "It is the third most common cancer among women in the country and the second most common cancer among women aged 15 to 44 years."

Punjab EPI Director Samra Khurram told Dawn that the HPV vaccination rollout presents unique obstacles. "A lot of girls are out of school. We have deployed 6,277 outreach teams and over 13,000 social mobilizers. We have developed separate plans for remote and underserved areas. Kit stations will be set up at the residences of community notables, hujras and LHW houses," she said.

She added that mobile and special teams are being deployed for high-risk and underserved populations, including prisons, orphanages, fields, markets, transport hubs, and informal settlements. "Civil society organisations have been taken on board to reach out to special communities," she said.

Highlighting the distinct nature of this effort, she explained, "The EPI provides vaccines against 12 diseases to children below five years of age. However, HPV addresses a different age group of 9 to 14 years. There is an injection fear, and it is hard to impart complicated scientific information to such a young age group."

According to Dawn, Khurram also noted that HPV vaccines have been introduced in over 144 countries worldwide, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Malaysia, and Indonesia. "Lessons learnt from these countries have been considered before the formation of operational planning," she said.

This will be a single-dose vaccine, administered by trained health workers, including vaccinators, lady health visitors and nurses. Previously available only in expensive private hospitals, the vaccine is being offered free of cost for the first time in a decade. (ANI)