Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, has one of the highest cervical cancer incidence and mortality rates in the continent, with an estimated 15,000 new cases and 10,000 deaths annually.
Cervical cancer is a major public health problem in Africa, where it is the leading cause of cancer death among women. According to the World Health Organization, about 119,000 new cases and 81,000 deaths from cervical cancer occurred in Africa in 2020, accounting for 22.5% of the global burden.
There is, therefore, an urgent need for effective and sustainable interventions to prevent and control cervical cancer in Nigeria and other African countries.
Gardasil is a vaccine that protects against human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical, vaginal, vulvar, and other cancers, recommended for girls and boys aged 11 to 12 years, but can be given as early as 9 years or as late as 26 years.
The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) will commence the introduction of the off-label use of quadrivalent Gardasil vaccine as a single dose schedule into routine immunization in Nigeria in the last quarter of 2023.
The decision to deploy the off-label Gardasil as a single dose schedule is based on the scientific evidence that shows that a single dose of Gardasil vaccine can provide solid protection against cervical cancer caused by human papillomaviruses (HPVs).
NAFDAC is in support of this decision as data from immunogenicity trials, post-hoc analyses of efficacy trials, and post-licensure observational studies among females have demonstrated that a single dose of HPV vaccine is sufficient to elicit an immune response that provides similar protection as a multidose regimen against initial and persistent HPV infection
