Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o says HPV vaccination coverage among eligible girls in the county rose from 16 per cent in 2022 to 90 per cent by August 2026, according to People Daily.
Writing on X on 10 October, Nyong'o said the result came from working with parents, parents' associations, headteachers and the Ministry of Education. "In 2022, only 16% of eligible girls in Kisumu had received the HPV vaccine. By August 2026, we had reached 90%," he said. The figures are the governor's own, and People Daily did not report an independent check of them.
The governor said health teams also connected children and families to other services, including nutrition support, HIV services, adolescent healthcare and disability assessments.
He pointed to Rwanda, which introduced its national HPV vaccination programme in 2011 and, according to figures he cited, reached more than 93 per cent coverage among eligible girls in its initial rollout through a school-based approach. He said Kenya could learn from that experience.
HPV is a common virus, and persistent infection with certain high-risk types can cause cervical cancer, People Daily noted. Vaccination protects against those infections, while regular screening can find early changes that may develop into cancer.
Source: People Daily