National Essay Competition Announced at Cervical Cancer Summit

A national essay competition was launched during the Cervical Cancer Summit to engage the public and foster discussions on cervical cancer. Find out how to participate.

The Stakeholders’ Summit on Cervical Cancer Elimination in Nigeria (SSCCEN) has initiated a national essay competition centered on Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This initiative aims to address and combat misinformation about the virus within the country.

This groundbreaking competition, a precursor to the forthcoming summit, aims to empower adolescent girls by placing them at the forefront of raising awareness about HPV and cervical cancer. It also seeks to dispel myths about the HPV vaccine, ensuring that accurate information is shared with the public.

The essay competition, designed by the Youth Engagement Committee of SSCCEN and led by Peace Shalom from TOCAA’s National Directorate, serves as an innovative approach to enhance awareness about the HPV vaccine. This initiative is particularly important given that cervical cancer ranks as the second most common cancer among women in Nigeria, resulting in over 7,000 preventable deaths each year.

Ishak Lawal, the Secretary of the SSCCEN Scientific Committee, highlighted in a statement on Monday that raising awareness about HPV is essential. This vaccine is primarily given to adolescent girls to prevent cervical cancer later in life. He added that for it to have the intended effect within this target group, effective awareness efforts are necessary.

He stated that reports from the field revealed widespread vaccine hesitancy, primarily driven by misinformation and misconceptions. Empowering the community with accurate information has become essential in dispelling these myths and misunderstandings.

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The HPV vaccine has been recently added to Nigeria’s routine immunization program as part of the WHO’s Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative (CCEI), which sets three key targets for cervical cancer elimination: vaccinating 90% of adolescent girls with the HPV vaccine, screening 70% of eligible women for pre-invasive cervical lesions, and ensuring that 90% of cervical cancer cases receive appropriate treatment.

Titled “Empowering Families and Youth: HPV Vaccination as a Pathway to Prevent Cervical Cancer and Foster Positive Health Discussions,” he stated that the 2024 essay competition aims to encourage young people to pursue accurate information about HPV, empowering them with knowledge that can help counter misinformation.

He mentioned that the panel of judges included a diverse array of stakeholders, such as cancer-focused civil society organizations (CSOs), representatives from the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Youth Initiatives (Monitoring and Delivery), and members from various Ministries including Education, Health, and Youth.

Additionally, he announced that the awards for the essay competition winners would be presented on November 21, 2024, during the opening ceremony of Nigeria’s second Stakeholders’ Summit on Cervical Cancer Elimination.

He explained that the summit was conceived by the End Cervical Cancer Nigeria Initiative (ECCNI), a non-governmental organization. Additionally, it is being directed by the National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination (NTF-CCE), which operates as a ministerial committee under the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

The committee, consisting of 15 members and led by former Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole as chairperson with Prof. Sani Malami serving as secretary, was inaugurated on August 19th, 2024, by Tunji Alausa, the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare.

Prof. Usman Malami, the Director-General of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), along with Dr. Adamu Alhassan, President of the Nigerian Cancer Society (NCS), act as advisors to the Stakeholders’ Summit.

Zainab Shinkafi Bagudu, a global advocate for cancer awareness and serving her third term on the board of directors at the International Union for Cancer Control (UICC), is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the opening ceremony of the second Stakeholders’ Summit on November 21st, held at the NAF Conference Center in Abuja.