Akure, Feb. 26, 2026 (NAN) The Ondo State Primary Healthcare Development Agency says it vaccinated 63,105 as against 54,956 targeted 9-year-old girls in 2025 for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) in the state.
The Permanent Secretary of the agency, Dr Francis Akanbiemu, stated this on Thursday in Akure at the Technical Working Group meeting on HPV Routinization.
Akanbiemu, represented by the Director of Disease Control, Dr Victor Adefesoye, said the state performed in the HPV vaccination beyond expectation.
“We have been able to score very high in the area of HPV vaccine coverage.
“I must let you be aware of our performance in the last, and in the just concluded measles, rubella and malaria vaccination activities.
“I want to say that among the 19 states, Ondo has been ranked very high because we passed in all the reports that the ministry gave us,” he said.
The permanent secretary said the HPV vaccine was to keep the girls healthy and prepared for the future as potential mothers.
According to him, the agency will continue to work, and enhance the Ministry of Education and the likes so that girl children get informed and get vaccinated.
He commended development partners, civil society organizations, market women, and media organizations for their contributions in continued vaccination coverage success in the state.
Also, the State Immunization Officer, Mrs Florence Fadiji, who reviewed the 2025 HPV Routinization performance, said the gaps recorded were low coverage in bad terrain and riverine areas.
According to her, out-of-school girls were difficult to reach and have the wrong perception about the vaccination.
Similarly, Mr Idris Suleiman, a representative of the Girl Effect, an organisation which sponsored the project, appreciated the state government for making the state conducive for the vaccination.
Suleiman reiterated the need for everyone to support the HPV vaccination coverage in order to save the lives of girl children in the state. (NAN)
