More than , girls across Sierra Leone will have access to the HPV vaccine after the government introduced it into the routine immunisation programme. He is calling on parents to register their daughters for HPV vaccination. Moinina, who doubles up as Chief Innovation Officer, is popular among students and their parents, perhaps due to his youthfulness, or perhaps for his signature dreadlocks and African print shirts.
It could also be for his passion for education, youth empowerment and innovation. He assures the young girls in the room that there are no side effects, neither is taking the vaccine against their religious beliefs β whatever they may be.
His tone is less of a politician and more of a father, brother and uncle. Dr Demby tells the audience in the room, as well as hundreds of thousands following virtually, that vaccination is their surest weapon against an ailment that continues to claim many lives in the country.
It is also an additional tool towards girl child empowerment. Before the launch, similar calls had been made on the radio, television stations, even public address systems on streets. The call to action is urgent. Statistics from the Sierra Leone Cancer registry show that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer after breast cancer and the biggest killer of all cancers among women aged between 14 and 44 years old.
The vast majority of cervical cancer cases are caused by the human papillomavirus, or HPV β a sexually transmitted disease that can go unnoticed for decades before cancer develops. The safe, effective HPV vaccine has been available in most wealthier countries since the s.
