• 57pc girls vaccinated against cervical cancer in seven days across Sindh, EPI data shows
• Naushahro Feroze tops the list with 89pc coverage
• 33pc girls immunised in Karachi division; district Keamari ranks last with 12pc coverage

KARACHI: As the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccination campaign enters its final stages, data collected by the Sindh Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) shows that Karachi has seen the lowest coverage so far in the province, much to the surprise and disappointment of health department officials and experts.

Launched last week, on Sept 15, the first-ever initiative in the province to protect girls, aged nine to 14, from cervical cancer concludes on 27.

The drive targets 4.1 million girls, aiming to cover 1,190 union councils across 30 districts of the province.

According to the data, 57 per cent girls have been vaccinated in seven days across the province with Naushahro Feroze seeing the highest coverage (89pc) followed by Qambar (88pc), Badin and Sujawal (85pc each), Ghotki (84pc), Sanghar (82pc), Tharparkar (81pc), Sukkur (80pc), Kashmore (79pc), Dadu (74pc), Umerkot (73pc), Khairpur and Tando Muhammad Khan (72pc each), Larkana and Matiari (71pc each), Thatta (70pc), Jamshoro (66), Shaheed Benazirabad (64pc), Shikarpur (59pc), Mirpurkhas (51pc), Tando Allahyar (50pc), Hyderabad (49pc) and Jacobabad (46pc).

Karachi division has seen an overall 33pc vaccination coverage. Of the target 887,692, a total of 288,477 girls have been vaccinated so far.

The highest coverage was recorded in District West (65pc) followed by Korangi (38pc), District South (34pc), District Malir (32pc), Central (27pc), East (22pc) and Keamari (12pc).

“There has been persistent false propaganda against the HPV vaccine by some social media influencers from day one that greatly harmed the campaign in Karachi where they have large following. These people have no medical background. Opposition from certain religious circles came in at a later stage,” Dr Khalid Shafi of the Pakistan Paediatric Association said, while explaining the poor public response to the vaccination campaign in Karachi.

A significant population (affected by the misleading information), he pointed out, decided to wait and see the drive’s outcomes. “Hopefully, the families would re-think their decision. Having said that, our vaccination rates are generally around 70 percent, even without people spreading false information.”

EPI Project Director Dr Raj Kumar described Karachi’s response as “surprising”.

“Towns with low literacy levels have performed better. I think area MPAs and political leaders played a key role in encouraging families (in rest of Sindh) to get their daughters vaccinated,” he said, adding that there wouldn’t be any major change in the strategy at this moment.

“However, we have increased sessions of parental counselling in schools in Karachi where we aren’t seeing encouraging responses. Having said that, the province of Sindh and Karachi have performed better than the rest of Pakistan. For instance, the HPV vaccination coverage in Islamabad is 18percent so far.”

According to officials, Pakistan is the 149th country to introduce this vaccine into its immunisation schedule. It’s already being used in Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Indonesia.

Cervical cancer is the second deadliest cancer for women worldwide and a major health threat in Pakistan, with a mortality rate exceeding 65 per cent. The HPV is the primary cause of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine is the first-ever cancer prevention vaccine.

The vaccine, experts say, is safe and effective, providing 100 per cent protection from cervical cancer.

Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2025