The Adamawa Primary Healthcare Development Agency says it has intensified efforts on advocacy and sensitization ahead of the official introduction of the Human Papilloma Virus vaccine into the routine immunization against cervical cancer among women.
The Health Educator in the agency, Mrs. Lydia Adamu, said this during an interactive session with newsmen in Yola.
She said that the agency had done a lot ahead of time to ensure the success of the exercise across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state.
She said that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women and a common cause of death, if not detected early.
According to Adamu, the vaccine will be free of charge and available across all the designated public facilities.
She said that health workers were allocated to work in the facilities, communities, schools, and out of school, to reach out to the target age group.
Adamu further said that the vaccinations would be given before exposure to the virus to girls aged nine to 14 for maximum protection.
She called on all the stakeholders to pass on the message and allow their children to access the vaccine for maximum protection.
Adamu further said that the advocacy team had visited many places, including the Ministry of Education, Women Affairs, State Universal Basic Education, NURTW, and the women’s wing of market associations.
