The Ashanti Regional Directorate of the Ghana Health Services (GHS), in collaboration with its partners, has held a stakeholders’ engagement on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination introduction in Ghana.
The Health Directorate has also launched the HPV Vaccination campaign, which commences from October 7 to 11, 2025 targeting 379,609 females from 9 to 14 years old, at the nearest vaccination point in schools and community outreaches.
HPV is a common viral infection, often sexually transmitted, spread through skin-to-skin contact and can cause warts or precancerous cell changes that may lead to various cancers, such as cervical, anal, penile, vulvar, vaginal and throat.
Dr. Fred Adomako-Boateng, Regional Director of GHS indicated that the introduction of the HPV vaccination into the nation’s routine immunisation programme was one of the public health milestones achieved by the country.
He noted that the HPV vaccination was not just a health campaign, but a national duty that talked about protecting the future generation of women.
Dr. Adomako-Boateng indicated that cervical cancer was one of the leading causes of cancer deaths, which are highly preventable, stressing that the introduction of the HPV vaccination would offer a unique opportunity to “protect girls early before they are exposed to the virus” that causes cervical cancer.
Acknowledging the indispensability of stakeholders’ role to a successive vaccination exercise, the Regional Health Director called for support to provide accurate information to students, mothers and all involved, to help facilitate the vaccination process within schools, markets and all other places.
He urged stakeholders to support a nationwide education and mobilisation campaign to galvanise support for the vaccine introduction, assuring that his team would work closely with schools to ensure the vaccines are delivered “safely, efficiently, respectfully and together make history by ensuring that the girls we teach today, grow into strong and healthy women of tomorrow.”
Nana Boakye Yam Ababio, Chief of Nkwantakese, who presided over the launch ceremony disclosed that cervical cancer was sadly taking the lives of too many women, noting that every year more than 3,000 Ghanaian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer – 2,000 of whom, including mothers, daughters, wives and queen mothers don’t survive.
Nana Ababio, however, assured that there is “hope”, which is the vaccination, said to be safe and effective way of protecting girls from the risk of contracting HPV.
The Chief urged parents and guardians to ensure that every eligible girl in various communities are vaccinated, noting that vaccinating a girl today means “protecting a mother tomorrow”.
Nana Boakye Yam Ababio also urged health workers, teachers, religious and traditional leaders to join hands to ensure that no child had been left behind.
From Oswald P. Freiku, Kumasi
