The Eastern Regional Health Directorate has revealed that 202,194 adolescent girls will be targeted in the upcoming nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, which begins on October 7, 2025.
The campaign, led by the Ghana Health Service (GHS), forms part of the country’s strategy to protect girls aged 9 to 14 years against HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer. Nationwide, 2,463,809 girls are expected to be vaccinated.
Dr. Moses Barima Djimatey, Deputy Director in charge of Public Health in the Eastern Region, said the first phase will run for five days, focusing on both schools and communities.
Afterward, the HPV vaccine will be integrated into the routine immunization programme for nine-year-old girls, with catch-up doses for those aged 10–14.
The vaccine to be administered is Gardasil 4, given in a single dose. Dr. Djimatey said the strategy includes in-school and out-of-school vaccination through static posts, outreaches, and camp-based services to ensure no eligible girl is left out.
Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer among women in Ghana and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
The country records about 2,800 new cases annually, with 1,700 deaths reported in 2020. Alarmingly, nearly 70% of cases are diagnosed at advanced stages when survival rates are extremely low.
While the five-year survival rate is around 95% for early-stage disease, it plummets to 15% at stage IV.
Dr. Samuel Bortei Borlabi, Deputy Director of Clinical Care in the Eastern Region, recalled that Ghana has already piloted HPV vaccination programmes with encouraging results.
In 2013, a pilot in 13 districts of the Northern and Central Regions vaccinated 33,725 adolescent girls, achieving coverage rates of 76.4% to 94.4%.
Between 2013 and 2015, another pilot in Greater Accra and the Northern Region recorded 81% full vaccination coverage among 10-year-old girls, according to an independent survey.
Health officials believe the national rollout could make the elimination of cervical cancer achievable.
“The burden of cervical cancer is on the increase, with its associated mortality. Elimination of cervical cancer is feasible with high uptake of the HPV vaccine. Ghana has successfully implemented HPV vaccine pilots and demonstrated its feasibility with high vaccine uptake,” officials said.
At a stakeholders’ meeting at the Eastern Regional Health Directorate on Thursday, September 25, the GHS stressed the importance of careful planning and partnerships ahead of the rollout. “Collaboration with GES, Private Schools is key reaching the targeted population.
The country plans to introduce the HPV vaccine into routine immunisation in October 2025,” the Service stated.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
