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Local health officials say the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination will not cause infertility or any other health complications in girls in the future.
The Central Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Alberta Biritwum-Nyarko, said the vaccine was rather to ensure a cervical cancer-free future for all Ghanaian girls, and urged the public to ignore misconceptions about the vaccination campaign.
She has therefore urged all girls between the ages of nine and 14 to receive the HPV vaccine to prevent any chances of suffering cervical cancer.
About 209,221 girls in the Central Region are expected to be vaccinated, while about 2.5 million girls between nine and 14 years have been targeted nationwide for the five-day HPV vaccination campaign.
At a press briefing on the vaccination exercise in Cape Coast last Monday, Dr Biritwum-Nyarko said the exercise was a bold step by the government to safeguard the future of girls from cervical cancer.
She further stressed that the HPV vaccine had been scientifically proven to prevent cervical cancer in women, with its safety profile guaranteed, and urged the public to participate in the exercise for society’s benefit.
Dr Biritwum-Nyarko stressed that the Ministry of Health and its allied agencies were committed to the health and well-being of all Ghanaians and would not do anything to negatively impact the public.
"I am a mother. We are all mothers and parents, and we will not do anything to harm the girls," she stated, adding that the benefits were enormous.
Dr Biritwum-Nyarko urged proprietors of private and mission schools to collaborate with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) by allowing their eligible learners to be vaccinated to ensure minimal chances of cervical cancer cases in the future for Ghanaian girls.
The Deputy Director of Public Health for the Central Region, Dr Joojo Cobbinah, said in 2020 alone, Ghana recorded nearly 2,800 new cases of HPV and 1,700 related deaths, adding that the data indicated the urgent need for preventive measures.
Dr Cobbinah further stated that 70 per cent of women diagnosed with cervical cancer in Ghana only sought medical attention after the disease had reached advanced stages, which also resulted in more than 50 per cent fatalities.
He said the vaccination exercise was also to create awareness and ensure that women went in for regular check-ups and sought medical care promptly to reduce the fatalities.
The Central Regional Health Promotion Manager, Matthew Hwireng, said the vaccination was critical towards tackling the incidence of cervical cancer, and urged all to ensure eligible girls got vaccinated.
