The Federal Government in collaboration with other development partners in the health sector will from September this year introduce the Human Papillomavirus vaccine to prevent the spread of Papillomavirus, often responsible for cervical cancer.

The Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib, disclosed this at the quarterly review meeting of the South West Traditional leaders committee on Primary Health Care delivery organised by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency held in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

Shuaib informed that the vaccine will prevent the spread of cancer, especially among women.

He disclosed that women from age 19 years and above are to take the vaccine, which he said has been tested and proven to be active for the prevention of cervical and other types of cancer.

Dr Shuaib lamented that children in the South West geo-political zone were not properly immunised between January and June this year.

According to him, only 189,310 children spread across the six states of the South West region were not immunised between January and June this year.

He hinted that Lagos State has the highest number of children not immunised in the year under review and followed by Oyo and Ondo States.

He charged the traditional leaders in the six states of the region to embark on advocacy programmes in order to ensure efficient participation of children in their domains in the subsequent rounds of immunisation exercise.

Also, he enjoined traditional rulers to mobilise children for immunisation and other Primary Health Care exercises organised from time to time.

Speaking, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Entanglement Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja 11 lauded the Primary Heath Care programmes of the Federal Government.

He urged the traditional rulers to support the federal government in its quest to ensure healthy living by mobilising their subjects for immunisation exercise. (Daily Sun)

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