The Director, External Affairs, Sub-Saharan Africa, MSD, Vuyo Mjekula, has called for greater private sector participation in cervical cancer prevention, including screening, early treatment, vaccination and community awareness.

Speaking at a policy roundtable organised by MSD in conjunction with Africa Health Business (AHB), with the theme, “Accelerating Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria: Uniting Public and Private Sectors for Equitable Access,”Mjekula said Nigeria had made significant progress with its national Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme but needed to expand screening, diagnosis and treatment.

She said about 18 million girls had been vaccinated since the programme began in 2023, describing it as the largest of its kind in Africa, with coverage of about 70 per cent and, in some instances, close to 80 per cent.

However, she stressed that vaccination alone would not eliminate cervical cancer, urging stronger action to ensure women who test positive for HPV have timely access to diagnosis and treatment.

The World Health Organisation’s elimination targets include vaccinating 90 per cent of girls against HPV, screening 70 per cent of women with a high-performance HPV test and providing appropriate treatment to 90 per cent of women identified with cervical disease.

Mjekula said the private sector could complement government efforts, particularly as changes in global development financing were increasing pressure on countries to mobilise domestic resources for healthcare.

“The private sector can and should have a seat at the table,” she said, citing the COVID-19 response as evidence that private healthcare providers could provide additional capacity when barriers to their participation were removed.

She called for greater integration of cervical cancer prevention into routine women’s healthcare, including maternal health, family planning and reproductive health services.

Mjekula also urged employers, religious and traditional leaders, civil society organisations and the media to support awareness and screening, particularly among adult women.

She clarified that MSD was not advocating a change to Nigeria’s routine target of girls aged nine to 14, but said alternative financing arrangements could help extend vaccination to other eligible groups without placing the entire burden on government.

She said MSD had supported catch-up vaccination for girls aged 18 to 20 who were outside the national programme when they were nine to 14. The company was also working with Gavi and UNICEF on access to higher-valency HPV vaccines and supporting civil society organisations involved in awareness and social mobilisation.

Mjekula said MSD had invested more than $44 million over the past decade through its MSD for Mothers initiative in civil society organisations working in maternal healthcare in Nigeria.

She stressed that government should continue to set the direction for cancer prevention and control, while private sector resources and expertise should complement national priorities.

Also speaking, the Director, Disease Control and Immunisation, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Rufai Ahmed Garba, said more than 18 million adolescent girls had been vaccinated against HPV, representing about 76 per cent of the target population.

Garba said Nigeria introduced HPV vaccination into the national programme in October 2023, adding that it was now part of routine immunisation and available free to nine-year-old girls at public health facilities.

He said the vaccine was also available at private facilities for people outside the routine target age who wished to receive it.

Garba said Nigeria recorded about 12,000 new cervical cancer cases and nearly 8,000 deaths annually, stressing that the response must go beyond vaccination to include screening, early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. “If it is not diagnosed early, if it is not treated early, it leads to death,” he said.

He said the agency was using school-based vaccination and outreach programmes to improve access, while adolescent-friendly health services could provide safe spaces for young people to obtain information and preventive care without stigma.

On the choice of nine as the routine vaccination age, Garba said the policy was designed to immunise girls before they became sexually active, noting that most HPV infections are sexually transmitted.

He added that the government initially provided a wider catch-up window before moving to routine vaccination for nine-year-olds.