Islamabad – The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, which targets girls aged 9 to 14 years to protect against cervical cancer, has been extended for three additional days until October 1. The campaign was originally scheduled to run from September 15 to 27.
The Directorate of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) shared a statement on Monday confirming that at least 2,410,924 girls have been vaccinated against cervical cancer during the campaign’s initial phase.
Focus on ‘Catch-up’ Days
The extension will run from September 29 to October 1 and is dedicated to conducting three “catch-up” days aimed at reaching unvaccinated girls. District Health Officers (DHOs) have been instructed to focus efforts on union councils (UCs) where initial vaccination rates were low.
The EPI directed DHOs to continue vaccination activities in schools with less than coverage or those not yet visited during the initial campaign days.
On the final scheduled day, September 27, 223,636 girls were vaccinated against HPV, achieving of the daily target and bringing the overall coverage to of the total provincial target.
Crucially, the EPI has also directed all field teams and supervisors to actively participate in the catch-up campaign without any additional budget allocation. This essential campaign is being implemented across all districts of the province to protect young girls against HPV, a leading cause of cervical cancer.
