KARACHI: Health experts at a meeting on Wednesday emphasised the need for creating awareness about HPV (Human Papillomavirus), its link with cervical cancer and a strong multi-sectoral collaboration to make the upcoming vaccination drive effective.

They were in attendance at the third Technical Working Group (TWG) meeting for HPV vaccine roll-out.

The meeting, chaired by Sindh EPI Director Dr Raj Kumar, brought together key partners and technical stakeholders to review progress, align strategies, and finalise coordination for the HPV vaccine campaign across Sindh.

The campaign, which will begin from Sept 15 and continue till Sept 27, aims to vaccinate 4.1 million girls, aged 9-14 years, of which an estimated 2.05m (50 per cent) are expected to be covered through school-based platforms.

Health authorities, experts review measures for making upcoming vaccination drive effective

The current enrolment data shows 777,824 girls enrolled in public schools, 626,337 in private schools, with a gap of 645,839 girls whose enrolment details remain pending, requiring urgent validation from the education department.

For the remaining 2.05m out-of-school girls, hotspot analysis revealed that 46pc are concentrated in 35pc of tehsils across 20 districts, including underserved urban settlements, brick kilns and rural labour communities.

The session was facilitated by Dr Sohail Raza Shaikh, Additional Director EPI Sindh, with operational coordination support from Dr Khalilullah Memon and Dr Arslan Memon.

According to experts, over 5,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in Pakistan every year and 3,197 of them die from the disease. Cervical cancer ranks as the third most frequent cancer among women in Pakistan and the second most frequent cancer among women between 15 and 44 years of age.

Dr Afshan Isani, senior WHO consultant, presented technical updates on HPV vaccine introduction, focusing on the single-dose regimen, cold chain integrity and adverse event (AEFI) readiness.

She emphasised the importance of integrating HPV into routine immunisation in the post-campaign phase.

Dr Khalid Shafi advocated for establishing screening and diagnostic facilities for cervical cancer, while Dr Iqbal Memon emphasised that well-trained and trusted healthcare providers are essential to build confidence in adolescent vaccination.

Dr Tazeen Abbas shared that ongoing webinars and virtual trainings are being conducted to build capacity and dispel common myths among frontline providers.

Laura Wells of Jhpiego reinforced that KAP (Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices) survey data — based on 575 respondents in Sindh — highlighted that only 5pc of caregivers were aware of HPV, but showed relatively better knowledge of its link to cervical cancer than other provinces.

Suneel Raja, immunisation officer, Unicef Sindh, shared that a multi-pronged strategy is being rolled out. This includes community sessions, school-based talks, digital engagement via WhatsApp and social media groups and close involvement of teachers and local influencers.

He highlighted that social mobilisation budgets have been allocated to districts, and terms of references are under final review for a third-party support to accelerate implementation.

The importance of involving religious leaders and community elders was reiterated, especially in areas with low immunisation uptake, to counter resistance and improve trust.

GAVI Pakistan’s senior programme manager Craig Beyerinck commended Sindh’s strategic coordination and partner alignment.

In his closing remarks, Dr Sohail Raza Shaikh thanked all partners for their continued collaboration and urged districts to expedite school engagement and community mobilisation.

“The success of this campaign lies in the collective efforts of the health, education, and development sectors, working together to protect the health of adolescent girls,” he noted.

He hoped that the province would deliver a landmark HPV campaign — contributing to the long-term prevention of cervical cancer and advancing adolescent health across the province — with the help of strong technical planning, real-time data and community-centred communication strategies.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025