Sindh launches first-ever HPV vaccination drive for 4.1 million girls

Free, one-time vaccine aims for 90–95% coverage to protect against cervical cancer

By Mukhtar Alam

KARACHI: The Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), Sindh, is set to roll out the province’s first-ever Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign today (September 15). The 10-day initiative follows weeks of awareness and training drives and aims to reach as many as 4.1 million adolescent girls across urban and rural areas.

According to official data, around 3,600 vaccinators will be deployed under the national campaign to administer a one-time HPV vaccine dose to girls aged 9–14. The delivery model combines fixed-site teams (490 vaccinators), outreach sessions (2,990 vaccinators) covering schools, madressahs, and community girls, and mobile units (131 vaccinators) to serve hard-to-reach populations.

The official launch ceremony will be held at Khatoon-e-Pakistan Government Girls School, Stadium Road, Karachi, with Sindh Health and Population Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho as chief guest. In recent media statements, Dr Pechuho stressed the vaccine’s importance for women’s health and well-being. “This campaign offers a unique, free-of-cost opportunity to protect our daughters against cervical cancer. The vaccine, provided through GAVI, is not available in the market,” she said. She added that the province is targeting 90–95% coverage and may later integrate HPV vaccination into routine immunisation for nine-year-old girls. Screening initiatives for women are also under consideration.

Awareness sessions, particularly in secondary schools where nearly half of the target group is enrolled, have emphasised that cervical cancer stems from abnormal cell growth in the cervix, which can impair reproductive health if not prevented. Experts have warned that HPV infection—affecting both genders but more prevalent in women—remains a leading cause. Of more than 100 HPV types, 14 are high-risk, with types 16 and 18 responsible for most cervical cancer cases. Vaccination, they note, prevents the majority of these high-risk infections.

Campaign presentations revealed that 48.5% of targeted girls are enrolled in schools and madressahs—879,000 in public schools, 834,000 in private institutions, and 137,000 in Sindh Education Foundation schools—while the remaining 51.5% are out of school. To build demand at the community level, five organisations—Association of Mother and Newborns, Health Education and Literacy Programme, Indus Hospital and Health Network, Shifa Foundation, and Vital Pakistan Trust—have been engaged.

Launch ceremonies are being held simultaneously across educational institutions and health forums. Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU), which earlier conducted an orientation at its APPNA Institute of Public Health, has announced that teams of its Bachelor of Science in Public Health students will visit 20 schools daily. “Armed with informational materials, these student ambassadors will turn hesitation into acceptance and directly support public health goals,” JSMU officials stated.

Reassuring families, Dr Raj Kumar, EPI Project Director, underscored that the HPV vaccine is safe, effective, and globally endorsed. “Over 144 countries have already introduced this vaccine, protecting millions of young girls from cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases,” he said.

Images & charts courtesy: Official sources.