Ghana has received its first shipment of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to protect the health of girls and women against cervical cancer.

This information was made known by the lead agency responsible for procuring and shipping the vaccines, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Ghana, on Tuesday, June 18.

According to UNICEF, over 2.5 million additional doses of the HPV vaccine will arrive in the coming weeks, following the initial batch of 441,860 doses.

The incoming vaccines will be utilized in a nationwide immunisation campaign led by the Ghana Health Service (GHS).

The campaign exercise is scheduled for September this year and will span five days. The vaccine will be offered for free to girls turning 9 to 14 years old in the country.

It added, "By including the HPV vaccine in the national Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) routine vaccines, Ghana is taking a significant step to protect future generations from cervical cancer."

Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among young girls and women, and it is caused by a viral infection of the female reproductive tract, particularly the cervix, the lower, narrow part of the uterus.

Although cervical cancer is among the most preventable types of cancer affecting women, efforts to prevent it have been hindered by limited awareness of the disease and its risk factors, inadequate access to preventive services such as vaccination, and the high cost of these services.

Prophylactic vaccination against HPV can prevent these cancers. In addition, HPV screening and treatment of precancerous lesions are effective ways to prevent cervical cancer, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

More than 140 countries have already begun administering the vaccine, contributing to a global effort to reduce cervical cancer rates and protect future generations of women and girls.

At least 14 of them are more than 100 types of HPV and are known to trigger cancer. Due to limited access to screening and treatment, low- and middle-income countries account for 85 percent of all new cases and deaths from cervical cancer.

“Cervical cancer was the fourth leading cause of cancer and cancer deaths in women in 2022, with some 660,000 new cases and around 350,000 deaths worldwide,” the WHO reports.

Per reports, cervical cancer kills over 2,000 women every year in Ghana. Last year, cervical cancer cases stood at 522, marking an increase of 224 cases from the 298 recorded in 2023 in the country.

Meanwhile, the GHS has bemoaned the low uptake of Ghanaian women taking screen­ing for cervical cancer, as its cases continue to soar in the country.

The goal of screening for cervical cancer is to find precancerous cell changes before they become cancer, and when treatment can prevent cancer from developing. Screening for cervical cancer is an important part of routine health care for people who have a cervix.