A first-time HPV vaccination campaign sees some success — and strong resistance
toggle caption Betsy Joles for NPR
ISLAMABAD — This fall saw Pakistan's first-ever campaign to administer the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine , which protects girls from cervical cancer. The vaccine is highly effective, according to global health groups, and is routinely administered in some 150 countries.
It was not a rousing success.
As vaccinators fanned out to schools and other sites in mid-September, they explained that the vaccine would be offered for free to girls ages 9 through 14 and could save their lives if they later contracted HPV, a common sexually transmitted infection that is a major cause of cervical cancer.
In Pakistan, HPV is the third most common cancer, with some 5,000 cases reported annually.
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