As many as 2,410,924 girls aged between 9 and 14 years, accounting for 66 percent of the target population, have been vaccinated during the 12-day Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign that concluded on Saturday.
To further enhance coverage, district health officers (DHOs) have been instructed to conduct three additional “catch-up” days from September 29 to October 1, aimed at reaching unvaccinated girls, particularly in union councils (UCs) where the vaccination rate was recorded as low.
According to data shared by the Directorate of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), DHOs have been directed to continue vaccination activities in schools with less than 80 percent coverage or those not yet visited during the initial campaign days. The EPI has also directed all field teams and supervisors to actively participate in the catch-up campaign without any additional budget allocation.
On the final day of the campaign, 223,636 girls were vaccinated against HPV, achieving 73 percent of the daily target, bringing the overall coverage to 66 percent of the total provincial target.
The campaign is part of efforts to protect young girls against HPV, a leading cause of cervical cancer, and is being implemented across all districts of the province under the supervision of the EPI Directorate.