Ho municipal health directorate targets 2,370 girls for HPV vaccination
The Ho Municipal Health Directorate in Ghana is conducting an HPV vaccination campaign targeting 2,370 girls aged nine to 14. The initiative aims to prevent cervical cancer by providing free vaccines at schools and health facilities.
Why it matters
Public health initiatives targeting HPV are critical for long-term cancer prevention, particularly in regions where access to preventative care is being expanded.
Ho, Oct. 9, GNA – The Ho Municipal Health Directorate is targeting 2,370 girls aged between nine and 14 years for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, as part of efforts to prevent cervical cancer.
Madam Irene Agbemesh, and Madam Millicent Obeng, Health Promotion Officers at the Ho Municipal Health Directorate, said the vaccination exercise was ongoing in private schools, while the team awaited the resumption of public-school activities to extend the campaign to those institutions.
They said the vaccination was intended to protect girls against HPV, the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer.
Madam Agbemesh explained that cervical cancer affected the cervix, which was the lower part of the uterus that opened into the vagina and was commonly associated with persistent infection with high-risk types of HPV.
She said HPV was mainly transmitted through intimate sexual contact, making vaccination before exposure to the virus an important preventive measure.
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