•EPI data shows that 57% of girls have received cervical cancer within 7 days, EPI data shows
•Naushahro Feroze ranks first with 89% Cendage
•33% of girls are immune in Karachi District; Keamari District ranks with 12% coverage
Karachi: vaccination as HPV (human papillomavirus) Activity Entering the final stage, data collected by Sindh’s extended Immunization Program (EPI) suggests that Karachi’s coverage has by far the lowest coverage, which has surprised and disappointed health department officials and experts.
Launched last week on September 15 First Initiative Protecting girls aged nine to 14 from cervical cancer in the province, summarizing it to 27.
The drive targets 4.1 million girls and aims to cover 1,190 union committees in 30 districts of the province.
According to the data, 57 per cent girls have been visualized in seven days across the Province with Naushahro Feroze Seeing the Highest coverage (89pc) followed by Qambar (88pc), Badin and Sujawal (85pc each), Ghotki (84pc), Sangar (82PC), Tharparkar (81pc), Sukkur (80pc), Kashmore (79pc), dadu (74pc), Umkot (73pc), Khairpur and Tando Muhammad Khan (72pc each), Larkana and Matiari (71pc each), the 70pc), Jamshoro (66), Jamshoro (66), Benazirabad (Benazirabad (64pc), Shikarpur (59pcur), Shikarphr (59pcurph), 59prph, (51pc), Tando Allahyar (50pc), Hyderabad (49pc) and Jacobad (46pc).
Overall 33% of the holiday coverage of the Karachi branch. Of the targets of 887,692, a total of 288,477 girls have been revoked so far.
The highest coverage was recorded in the western (65%) regions, followed by the southern (38pc), southern (34pc), Marill (32pc) (32pc), central (27pc), East (22pc) and Keami (12pc).
“Always existed False propaganda From day one, the impact of some social media influencers on the HPV vaccine has greatly damaged Karachi’s campaign. These people have no medical background. Dr Khalid Shafi of the Pakistan Pediatric Association said that it also explained that the public response to the Karachi vaccination campaign was poor. ”
He noted that a large population (affected by misleading information) decided to wait and see the results of the drive. “I would like to say that these families will rethink their decisions. Having said that, our vacation rates are usually around 70% even if no one spreads false information.”
Dr. Raj Kumar, director of EPI project, described Karachi’s response as “surprising”.
“Cities with lower literacy levels are performing better. I think regional MPA and political leaders have played a key role in encouraging families (in other parts of Sindh) to get vaccinated,” he said.
“However, our parent consultation meetings at Karachi schools have increased and we have not seen encouraging reactions. Having said that, Sindh and Karachi have performed better than the rest of Pakistan.
According to officials, Pakistan is the 149th country to introduce the vaccine to its immunization program. It is already used in Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Indonesia.
Cervical cancer is the second deadly cancer in the world and is a major health threat in Pakistan with a mortality rate of more than 65%. HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer, and the HPV vaccine is the first layer of cancer prevention vaccine.
vaccine, Experts saysafe and effective, can provide 100% protection for cervical cancer.
Posted at Dawn on September 24, 2025
