By: Edirin Robinson .
In commemoration of the 2025 International Women’s Day, Hope for Communities and Children (H4CC), with support from Girl Effect, has flagged off the vaccination against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) at Pambeguwa community in Kubau Local government.
Speaking at the event held at the palace of the community District Head today, the Executive Director of H4CC, Hajiya Hadiza Umar commended him for permitting his daughter and other female members of his family to get vaccinated first just to show the people in the community and the local government that the vaccine is safe and he endorses it.
She disclosed that due to the cooperation of the District Head, the vaccine has received a 110 boost in its uptake by the girls in the community as parents and girls are more aware and enlightened about the importance of the vaccine.
“We also have our champions here; they are the community health workers and also teachers who are going to be holding sessions with the girls and their parents to let them understand why the vaccine is necessary, what the virus is, and its dangers.
“Our Partners, GAVI and Girl Effect have been amazing. GAVI is the one producing the vaccine, while Girl Effect is our direct partner on the national level, and they are also working in about seven other states.
“They are working closely with the Primary Healthcare Centers and development Agencies, and at the rural level, we are working with PHC Officials and communities to ensure the vaccine is accepted.
The main reason we are into this intervention is to boost the uptake of the vaccine because Kubau, Chikun, and Kaduna South LGAs have low uptake of the vaccine. So, for now, we are working in Kubau and Chikun to boost the uptake of the vaccine and so far, we have 110 percent endorsement from the community as they are bringing their girls to get vaccinated.
“My message to women is We First; let’s love ourselves, take care of ourselves, and make sure that we maintain our position as mentors and role models.
” You are building societies, so strive to live healthy, and build strong societies by ensuring that everyone who is within our care is being taken care of.
“Let us be good parents, instilling good morals and also, ensure to take care of yourself and love yourself because if you don’t, you can’t take care of your loved ones and nobody will know your value,” she said.
In his remark, the District Head of the community, Alhaji Sufiyanu Umar Usman (Karfen Dawakin Zazzau) expressed his gratitude to the State Government for choosing his community as one of the first beneficiaries of the HPV vaccination.
Alh. Sufiyanu Umar Usman, who presented his daughter and other young females of his family to be vaccinated first, said the act is to show his people the importance of the vaccine and will help to persuade the members of the community to permit their daughters to get vaccinated.
“We thank God for the Kaduna State; out of the many LGAs that we have, they selected two, and we are happy to be the first to launch, which is why I have to show people the importance of this vaccination,n, and that’s why I introduced my daughter to be vaccinated first.”
Speaking on the training for the Community Health Extension Workers (CHEW), he expressed delight about the positive feedback from the trainers, saying that, he gave their names to be trained because of his assurance in their ability to deliver well.
“I call on my people to understand the importance of this vaccine because people can be very difficult. Some of my people are not educated. That’s why I call on traditional and religious leaders to start preaching about the need for vaccination. They should forget about rumors that are going around and see the importance of this vaccination for the benefit of our girls.”
In his message to women across the globe on the celebration of International Women’s Day, the District Head admonished them to maintain their dignity and honor, saying that as mothers, the world looks up to them for guidance.
Speaking also, one of the Program Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria M. Aremu, said that, while her organization had leveraged on International Women’s Day to flag off the HPV vaccination, the most interesting thing was that the Ruler allowed someone from his household to be the one to launch the vaccine.
“Also, a lot of the community members showed up for this event, and the reception was amazing; we are very hopeful about the vaccination, and that’s a plus for us. We have 20 chews and 10 teachers in this community. So while the health workers are giving information to teachers and parents, the teachers are passing information to the girls.
“The State government has assured us that there are enough vaccines to last for three months before the next intervention. So, we are very hopeful that HPV will become a thing of the past in our time.”
