Karachi, Pakistan: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, launched to protect girls in Sindh from cervical cancer, has failed to garner the necessary public trust, achieving less than desirable results. Despite this, the Sindh government has controversially allocated 797 million Pakistani Rupees for the procurement of the vaccine for the next three years. This decision is raising serious questions among medical experts and the general public.
According to Express News, the government has decided to integrate the HPV vaccine into the routine Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) starting in 2026. Sources indicate that the government intends to use the data from the recent 15-day campaign as the basis for this inclusion, even though the province-wide drive, which aimed to vaccinate 4.1 million girls aged 9 to 15, was unable to meet its target.
Parental Mistrust and Target Failure: During the campaign launched last September, a significant majority of parents expressed a lack of confidence and refused to allow their daughters to be vaccinated. EPI data highlights the failure: in Karachi’s Keamari district, the vaccination rate was only 16 percent, while District East recorded just 37 percent, signaling clear parental resistance.
Propaganda and Health Priorities: The Department of Health blamed the poor response on a lack of effective publicity and awareness campaigns, coupled with the virulent negative campaign orchestrated by anti-vaccine elements on social media. AI-generated videos created and circulated online reportedly fuelled significant fear among parents, and the government’s counter-narrative was deemed ineffective.
Medical experts are questioning the haste in prioritizing the HPV vaccine when Pakistan suffers annually from thousands of deaths due to diseases like diarrhea, malaria, and dengue. Citizens and critics argue that the government’s focus on HPV, while other diseases are neglected, shows poor prioritization. EPI Project Director Dr. Raj Kumar confirmed the 797 million PKR allocation for three years of vaccine procurement, funded by the Sindh government, leading critics to question why such a large sum is being spent when parental consent remains low.
