The Eastern Regional Health Directorate has announced that estimated 202,194 adolescent girls will be in vaccinated in the upcoming Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, which begins nationwide with launch on October 7, 2025.
The campaign, to be carried out in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES), will cover both public and private schools, as well as out-of-school girls, to ensure maximum reach.
At a Stakeholders Meeting in Koforidua on Thursday Dr. Moses Barima Djimatey, Deputy Director in Charge of Public Health at the Eastern Regional Health Directorate , said the HPV vaccine introduction will begin with a five-day nationwide vaccination campaign, targeting a total of 2,463,809 girls aged 9 to 14 years. The Eastern Region alone has been allocated more than 202,000 adolescent girls under the exercise.
After the campaign, the vaccine will be integrated into Ghana’s routine immunization programme, beginning with nine-year-old girls (an estimated 437,759 nationwide) and extended to a catch-up plan for girls aged 10–14 years.
The strategy will be age-based and delivered through in-school and out-of-school approaches, using static posts, outreaches, and camp-based services. The vaccine type to be administered is Gardasil 4, given in a single dose.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in Ghana and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The country records nearly 2,800 new cases and about 1,700 deaths annually.
Health officials warn that 70% of women are diagnosed when the disease has already progressed to advanced stages. While the five-year survival rate is 95% for early-stage disease, it falls drastically to 15% at stage IV.
Ghana has previously conducted two HPV vaccine pilot projects:
In 2013, a pilot in 13 districts of the Northern and Central Regions enrolled 33,725 adolescent girls, with coverage between 76.4% and 94.4%.
Between 2013 and 2015, another pilot in the Greater Accra and Northern Regions achieved 81% full vaccination coverage among 10-year-olds, according to an independent survey.
Eastern Region Deputy director of Clinical Care, Dr. Samuel Bortei Borlabi said the medicine is safe and has no serious adverse effect.
The Ghana Health Service has reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating cervical cancer, emphasizing that this is feasible with high vaccine uptake. Officials say collaboration with GES, private schools, parents, and community leaders will be critical to the success of the rollout.
Health authorities have also pledged comprehensive microplanning, sustained advocacy, targeted communication, and stakeholder engagement to ensure the HPV vaccine achieves wide acceptance and uptake across the country.
The vaccine will officially be added to Ghana’s routine immunization schedule from October 2025.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
