KARACHI: The Sindh government on Wednesday announced a cervical cancer prevention vaccination campaign from Sept 15 to 27 across the province among girls aged 9–14 years, warning that more than 5,000 women are diagnosed with the disease every year and 3,000 of them die.

Announcing the campaign at a media briefing, the health officials and experts highlighted the urgent need for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in Pakistan by sharing national and global data on the burden of cervical cancer, with more than 348,000 deaths reported in 2022.

Dr Raj Kumar, director of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Sindh, said that the project aims to vaccinate 4.1 million girls aged 9 to 14 years against HPV to prevent cervical cancer across Sindh.

“This initiative will cover all 1,190 Union Councils across 30 districts,” he said. “To achieve this, 3,611 teams will be deployed to schools, madrassas, and communities, as well as all EPI centres in Sindh. By immunising our girls today, we are ensuring a healthier, cancer-free future for generations to come. Sindh is the first province to support and initiate the HPV vaccine launch in Pakistan on the directives of Minister of Health Dr Azra Pechuho.”

Around 3,000 women are diagnosed with the disease every year: experts

He said that the vaccine has the potential to make Sindh free from cervical cancer, which has a mortality rate of above 65 per cent. He shared the campaign strategy as the first phase of the campaign consists of a 12-day vaccination drive, excluding Sundays, targeting girls aged 9–14 through both school-based and community-based outreach.

“While enrolled girls will be immunised at school whilst out-of-school girls will be vaccinated at community locations such as markets, parks, and vocational centres,” he added. “Fixed-site sessions at health facilities and mobile teams in hard-to-reach areas will further expand coverage, while catch-up doses will be available for girls who miss the initial campaign. Routine vaccination for 9-year-old girls will start from Jan, 2026, with annual outreach to schools ensuring that newly enrolled girls are protected.”

Dr Khuram Akram, technical director of the Federal Directorate of Immunisation, on this occasion highlighted the urgent need for the HPV vaccine in Pakistan by sharing national and global data on the burden of cervical cancer, with more than 348,000 deaths reported in 2022.

“In Pakistan alone, an estimated 5,008 women are diagnosed with the disease every year, and over 3,000 deaths occur, making it the third most common cancer among women of all ages and the second most common among women of reproductive age,” he said.

He explained that cervical cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide, the HPV virus, particularly types 16 and 18, is responsible for nearly 70pc of cervical cancer cases and that the vaccine offers a powerful tool to prevent the disease.

“The launch also introduced the phased rollout plan for the vaccine, which will begin in Punjab, Sindh, Islamabad Capital Territory, and Azad Jammu & Kashmir in 2025 before expanding to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2026 and Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan in 2027,” he added.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2025