Don’t receive cervical cancer vaccination from FG – IPOB tells Igbo female teenagers

The Indigenous People of Biafra has called on teenage females from the South-East region to reject cervical cancer vaccination from the Federal Government.

IPOB media and publicity secretary, Emma Powerful, made this known in a statement on Wednesday.

Recall that the International Vaccine Centre announced that the FGNigeria introduced the single-dose HPV vaccine into its routine immunization programme in October 2023.

This vaccine introduction was made possible by the FG, through the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), with support and technical assistance from several key partners, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, WHO, UNICEF, and IVAC.

The introduction marked the first phase of a multi-age cohort campaign to vaccinate 9–14-year-old girls across 16 Nigerian states, with girls in the country’s remaining 21 states to be targeted in phase two of the campaign later this year.

It said within the next two years, the program aims to reach over three million 9-year-old girls and 14 million girls between 10 to 14 years old, making it the largest roll-out of the single-dose schedule to date

IVAC, led by Nigeria Country Director Dr. Chizoba Wonodi, played a pivotal role at various stages of HPV vaccine introduction.

Reacting to the vaccination in the statement, IPOB questioned why young girls should be targeted for the vaccines instead of old women.

“Medically, cervical cancer happens to sexually active women. Why is the vaccine targeted at teens who are considerably not sexually active?” the group said

“Why is the vaccine targeted on teen girls instead of the sexually active women? Cervical cancer is an age long disease among sexually active women.

“Our grandmothers, mothers, and sisters have lived their lives without cervical cancer vaccine and cervical cancer. Why would our young girls be targeted for vaccines instead of the older women who are above childbearing age? Does it mean that older women are not threatened by the same cervical cancer?”

The Nnamdi Kanu-led group said the Igbo people have not benefited from the FG’s goodwill, asking why the vaccination should not be treated with caution.

It continued, “Ndigbo have never been beneficiaries of the Federal Government economic benevolence. Therefore, Ndigbo must be careful of any medical benevolence from the Nigeria government.

“Moreso, the world we live in today is being manned by dangerous people with their own agendas. Some of the agendas, such as Bill Gates’ depopulation program agenda, are not hidden. The COVID 19 vaccine has proven to be promoted by people with hidden agendas.

“Our people must be very careful in whatever vaccine that the government introduces because behind some of these vaccines are demonic agendas.

“As much as IPOB agrees that cervical cancer is real, we will not encourage our children (ages 9-14) to accept any cervical cancer vaccine.

“Biafran parents must avoid subjecting their children as guinea pigs for medical experiments. Some of the vaccines are targeted at creating infertility among the men and women in Africa, particularly among the highly fertile race, which Ndigbo is among the top.

IPOB, therefore, calls on Biafran parents to avoid vaccination of their girl children with purported cervical cancer vaccine from the Federal Government of Nigeria.”