Mrs Wilhemina Tiwaah Duah Morttey, the Municipal Director of Health Services for Tarkwa Nsuaem, has urged caregivers, parents, teachers, and school proprietors to ensure that all girl children aged between nine and fourteen years receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to protect them against cervical cancer.
She explained that vaccinating girls at an early age would help shield them from the disease and prevent future deaths linked to cervical cancer.
Mrs Morttey announced that the vaccination exercise would commence from Tuesday, October 7, to Saturday, October 11, 2025, and would target only girls within the specified age group.
Providing details at a press briefing, she said the Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service (GHS) would soon launch the HPV vaccination campaign as part of efforts to reduce cervical cancer cases among women in Ghana.
She explained that the vaccine would protect against cervical cancer caused by the HPV, which could affect the genital area, including the vulva and cervix, as well as the throat.
“We know that HPV is transmitted sexually, and 80 per cent of sexually active people have this kind of virus within them. The virus causes infections that translate into cancers,” she said.
Mrs Morttey added that the purpose of the vaccination was to ensure that young girls were protected before they became sexually active, thereby reducing their risk of developing cervical cancer later in life.
“Once these girls would grow up and become sexually active, we do not want them to get to that stage where they would have to battle with cancers,” she said.
She emphasised that the Ministry of Health, together with the GHS, was committed to protecting girls from contracting cervical cancer by preventing infection with the virus that caused it.
Mrs Morttey assured parents and the public of the vaccine’s safety and encouraged full participation, stressing that vaccinating girls now would protect them from developing cervical cancer in the future.
