Bangladesh makes HPV vaccine routine after successful launch campaign

Bangladesh has concluded its phased HPV vaccine introductory campaign with 5.6 million girls protected – a positive indicator for how the cancer-blocking vaccine will be embraced in years to come.

  • 4 February 2025
  • 3 min read
  • by Mohammad Al Amin
Children with teachers during a HPV vaccination session at a primary school in Bangladesh. Credit: Sumon Mahmud, Sujanagar UHC
Children with teachers during a HPV vaccination session at a primary school in Bangladesh. Credit: Sumon Mahmud, Sujanagar UHC
 

 

Late last October, Tayba Sayeda, a student of class IX at Kashinathpur Biggan School in Bangladesh’s Pabna district, bared her upper arm to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and joined the 5.6 million other Bangladeshi girls who are now protected from cervical cancer.

“I’m very much happy getting the vaccine that is supposed to give me protection from a cancerous disease. Initially I was a little bit afraid and hesitated to take the vaccine apprehending about its side-effects,” Sayeda told VaccinesWork during an interview late last December.

Taking place in schools and health centres across Barishal, Chittagong, Khulna, Mymensingh, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Rangpur divisions, this was the final phase of a nationwide roll-out that had begun in October 2023. It also marked the transition point between the introductory campaign, which targeted 6.2 million adolescent girls in classes V–IX, or in the age group 10–14, and the routine roll-out of the vaccine. In the future, the vaccine will be administered as normal to girls in class V, or out of school and aged ten years.

“We are happy that the government has provided the vaccine for our girls free of cost. Now we are tension free that our girls are protected from the HPV by taking the vaccine.”

- Tayba Sayeda, assistant teacher, Ahammadpur Dakkhinchar Govt Primary School

Building momentum

Kazi Sumon Mahmud, Health Assistant of Sujanagar Upazila Health Complex in Pabna district, said in his area, like across the rest of Bangladesh, campaign days in schools were the primary vehicle for the roll-out.

“In the beginning we faced some challenges, we get poor response from the vaccine recipients due to various reasons including, religious misconception and fear of side-effects. Later, with the instruction of our health officials, we counselled the eligible girls and their guardians about the vaccine,” he added.

 

Girls waiting for the HPV vaccine at a primary school in Bangladesh. Credit: Sumon Mahmud, Sujanagar UHC
Girls waiting for the HPV vaccine at a primary school in Bangladesh. Credit: Sumon Mahmud, Sujanagar UHC

The tide turned quickly: “In the second-day vaccination campaign, we got huge [numbers of] vaccine recipients.” Parents and girls alike reported enthusiasm and relief. Shamsunnahar Khatun, mother of Tayba Sayeda, also an assistant teacher at Ahammadpur Dakkhinchar Govt Primary School, said, “We are happy that the government has provided the vaccine for our girls free of cost. Now we are tension free that our girls are protected from the HPV by taking the vaccine.”

According to Md. Ali Mazrui Rahman, Upazila Health & Family Planning Officer (UH&FPO) of Sujanagar Upazila Health Complex in Pabna district, the Upazila was finally able to report an impressive 99% coverage rate. Country-wide, too, uptake has been encouraging: by December, 93% of eligible Bangladeshi girls had received the jab, based on early data reported by the government.

Transformation in the offing

Persistent infection with the extremely widespread virus causes 95% of cases of cervical cancer – Bangladesh’s second-most common cancer in women. Annually, 8,300 Bangladeshi women are diagnosed with the preventable cervical cancer, according to 2023 figures, and 4,900 of them die.

With millions of girls now protected from the cancer-causing virus, and waves of ten-year-olds to receive the jab in the coming years, those figures are likely to shift dramatically for Tayba Sayeda’s generation.