The Girl Effect, a project to improve health outcomes in girls aged 9 to 14, has called for stronger community-driven strategies and sustained stakeholder engagement to maintain gains recorded in HPV vaccination uptake and adolescent nutrition programmes in Oyo State, as its intervention project approaches completion.
Speaking at a sustainability meeting in Ibadan, Idris Suleiman, Zonal Project Manager at Girl Effect, said the organisation had been working in the state since July 2024, focusing on improving HPV vaccination coverage and strengthening nutrition-related interventions among adolescents.
He said that one of the major insights from the intervention was the need for tailored strategies to reach nine-year-old girls, the primary target group for HPV vaccination, as opposed to routine immunisation programmes for younger children.
“The target age group for HPV vaccination is nine-year-old girls, and unlike routine immunisation for children under two, this requires a different approach. We need to continuously enlighten communities on the importance of vaccinating girls against cervical cancer,” he said.
He declared: “For girls to get vaccinated, we need to work with parents, community stakeholders, teachers in schools, and healthcare workers in communities. When families need information, they often turn to the nearest health worker, so their role is critical.”
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Suleiman said the “champions approach” adopted by Girl Effect, which engages teachers and healthcare workers as key influencers in schools and communities to promote awareness and drive vaccine uptake proved effective in increasing acceptance of the HPV vaccine.
“These combined approaches, school-based champions, community engagement, social media awareness and radio drama, have significantly improved awareness and uptake. If sustained, they will continue to protect girls from cervical cancer in the future,” he said.
On programme outcomes, Suleiman disclosed that HPV vaccine uptake in the two implementing local government areas increased from about 55 per cent at baseline to over 70 per cent during implementation.
He added: “In Oyo State, we recorded an increase from around 55 per cent at baseline to over 70 per cent across the two LGAs – Akinyele and Ibadan North-East. While the margin may appear modest, the population size means the number of additional girls reached is significant.”
Suleiman urged stakeholders to sustain the momentum by embedding community engagement strategies within existing health systems to ensure continued progress in HPV vaccination coverage and adolescent health programming.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Ibadan, Dr Philip Zorto, WHO Oyo State Coordinator, pledged WHO’s continued support for Oyo health interventions and called for stronger coordination on immunisation and HPV rollout.
He expressed appreciation to the Oyo State Government for providing what he described as an enabling environment for health interventions, noting that strong leadership had contributed significantly to coordination and continuity in the sector.
Dr. Zorto noted that health interventions must be continuously reviewed and strengthened through joint planning and effective coordination among stakeholders emphasised the importance of integration of health services to prevent fragmented interventions from weakening overall impact.
He also called for shared responsibility among government and partners in sustaining health gains, stressing that while partners play a complementary role, government must remain at the forefront of leadership and resource mobilisation.
The Oyo State Primary Health Care Board has called for sustained collaboration among government agencies, civil society organisations and development partners to consolidate gains in public health interventions, particularly in adolescent health and HPV immunisation.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, represented by Dr. Adeyemi Adewole, Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, said the progress recorded in health service delivery in the state was evidence of the strength of multi-stakeholder cooperation.
He noted that health service delivery could no longer be shouldered by government alone; stressing that sustainable progress depended on partnerships across sectors.
According to him, public health interventions such as immunisation require continuous effort due to the constantly growing target population.
Highlighting the impact of Girl Effect interventions in Oyo State, Dr. Adewole said the initiative had contributed to strengthening immunisation coverage and improving awareness around adolescent health, including the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for eligible girls.
He emphasised the need for sustained HPV vaccination for eligible girls aged nine and above, noting that new cohorts would continually require access to the vaccine.
He urged continued partnership among government, development partners and implementing organisations to ensure the long-term success of health interventions in the state.
The meeting, organised by Girl Effect in collaboration with the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board, brought together key actors in the health sector, including government officials and civil society organisations involved in implementing health programmes across the state.
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