The Sindh Health Department will launch an awareness campaign in September for girls aged 9 to 14 about cervical cancer and HPV vaccination. Arrangements for this program were finalized in a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Dr. MB Raja Dharijo, which aims to protect young girls from these dangerous diseases and provide important information about prevention and treatment.

The Deputy Commissioner emphasized the importance of training healthcare professionals, including vaccinators, for this initiative. He ordered the creation of an informative video detailing the vaccination procedure for distribution among all participants. Dr. Dharijo also directed Sukkur’s education authorities to provide a complete list of all female students enrolled in government and private educational institutions. He said that teachers will play an important role in this program, especially in counseling parents before vaccination. Joint meetings with teachers and parents should be held to facilitate this process.

Dr. Noor Soomro gave a comprehensive briefing on cervical cancer and HPV vaccination during the meeting. The 12-day awareness campaign will begin on September 15 and conclude on September 27, 2025, covering 46 union councils of Sukkur’s five talukas. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics estimates that nearly 69 million women aged 15 and over in the country are vulnerable to cervical cancer. Every year, 5,008 women are diagnosed with the disease, while 3,197 women die from it. The World Health Organization says that cervical cancer can be eliminated through HPV vaccination for girls up to 15 years of age and screening and treatment for affected women.