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By Akanji Alowoludo, Bauchi
The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (BASPHCDA), Dr. Rilwanu Mohammed has said that the state has commenced preparations for the introduction of the Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) vaccination.
He made the disclosure during an orientation meeting held for media on Human Papiloma Virus (HPV) Vaccine Introduction in Bauchi.
Speaking during the meeting, Dr. Mohammed noted that the vaccination exercise is targeted at girls from 9-14 years old saying that once the vaccine is ready, the exercise will commence across the state.
According to him, “We want you to inform the public about the intended vaccination, we have had a meeting with religious leaders and some traditional leaders on why we want to administer Human Papilloma Vaccine which is coming up in September this year.”
Mohammed also said that the aim of holding the meeting was to enable journalists ask all the necessary questions on why government intends to carry out the vaccination exercise with a view to informing and educating members of the public about its importance.
“If the vaccine is available, we are going to administer it to ladies from 9-14 years, if it is not available, we will target 9 years old ladies only in order to give them the prevention”, he said.
The Executive Chairman also stated that a technical working group has been set up under his Chairmanship, stressing that they have discussed with officials of World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other partners on how to carry out the HPV vaccine.
“We hope that when we start the vaccination, we are not going to have much problem because information has already reached members of the public”, he further explained.
Mohammed further said that the Agency is going to use all forms of languages that people can understand to create awareness and pass information about the vaccine so that parents will allow their children to get vaccinated.
According to him, it has been identified that early marriage also contribute to the problem of Papilloma virus, as such, ladies from 9-14 years old are targeted for the vaccine to protect them in case they are married off early.
Presenting a paper ‘Role of Media Practitioners in the roll-out of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine Campaign’, State Technical Officer HPV Introduction, World Health Organization (WHO) in Bauchi, Mustapha Mai-Iyali Umar urged Journalists to be actively involved in ensuring that the vaccination exercise succeeded.
Umar called on the media to actively support the state technical working group by reporting its activities while working in synergy to develop, adapt and translate inter-education and communication (IEC) for the HPV vaccine.
He further appealed to the media to support the effort through Information dissemination using various outlets and platforms, among others.
