HPV vaccination drive starts Sept 15

The Sindh Health Department has announced that a province-wide vaccination campaign against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) will be conducted from September 15 to 27. The campaign aims to vaccinate girls between the ages of 9 and 14 against cervical cancer.

According to the department, the drive will cover 30 districts across Sindh, with a target of vaccinating 4.1 million girls. Of these, around 2.05 million will be covered through school-based programs, while the rest will be reached through community-level efforts.

The Sindh Health Minister has appealed to parents to ensure their daughters receive the vaccine, stressing that it is a crucial step to protect them from cervical cancer. Medical experts explain that cervical cancer develops in the lower part of the uterus and often does not show symptoms in its early stages, which makes timely diagnosis difficult and the disease potentially life-threatening. They added that the primary cause of cervical cancer is the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and vaccination is the most effective means of prevention.