Why Kisumu is behind schedule in HPV vaccine drive
Kenya rolled out A HPV vaccination drive of girls aged 10 to 14 in 2019.
What you need to know:
- In Kenya, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women, with 5,236 cases diagnosed annually.
- Kenya is currently among the top 20 high cervical cancer burden countries globally.
Vaccine hesitancy, misconceptions, resistance by teachers and lack of parental consent have been blamed for the low uptake of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among young girls in Kisumu County.
In 2019, Kenya rolled out vaccination of girls aged 10 to 14 to reduce the burden of the disease by preventing cervical cancer before exposure to the virus. Since then, only 9,313 girls in Kisumu have received the full dose, while 42,512 have received a single dose.
The low adoption places the county way below its initial target of immunising 86,012 girls by the end of the outreach.
County Health and Sanitation Director Fredrick Oluoch said the low uptake is a major cause for concern. He further blamed the low number on Covid-19, inadequate funding for schools’ outreach programme and inadequate information among some healthcare workers, teachers and parents. “HPV uptake has generally been low countrywide. This was further affected by Covid-19, which saw schools closed for a better part of 2020,” Mr Oluoch said. “Some parents often give verbal consent, which does not guarantee vaccinations, while some are unwilling to take part.”
According to the World Health Organisation, over 10 million lives were lost to the disease in 2020.
In Kenya, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women, with 5,236 cases diagnosed annually.
Kenya is currently among the top 20 high cervical cancer burden countries globally.
Mr Oluoch revealed that Kisumu is now stepping up community outreach and sensitisation, with the Health department planning to launch screening at outpatient and other hospital departments while referring girls for vaccination.
“Additionally, the department aims to strengthen the relationship between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education for continued collaboration to ensure smooth vaccination,” he said.
