The government has unveiled a program to vaccinate 1 million school girls against HPV. The vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) will be administered across schools this week. The virus is associated with cervical cancer- a disease that kills about 4 million women every day in Zimbabwe.
Minister Paul Mavima had issued a statement about the program:
Over a million girls aged 10 to 15 years are set to receive the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine this week up to May 31.
The government has adopted a school-based approach for the vaccination programme, hence parents, guardians, teachers, churches and communities are urged to rally behind the ministries of Health and Education and encourage all eligible girls to receive this life-saving vaccine.
We are grateful for the support from GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations) and Vaccine Alliance for availing adequate vaccines to cover all eligible girls across the country from the programme’s inception and subsequently for the annual vaccination which will continue in schools.
Other partners such as the UNFPA, WHO and Health Development Fund have pledged to support the country to ensure the success of the cervical cancer prevention programme.
