BY BANELE MAGONGO
MBABANE – Government, through the Ministry of Health, has received a grant of over E30 million from the Global Alliance for Vaccinations and Immunisations (GAVI) to fight the spread of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
The donation was disclosed today by Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula when officially launching the GAVI (commonly known as the GAVI Alliance) Grant at the Hilton Garden Inn, Mbabane.
According to the minister, the funds will be used to implement a HPV vaccination program for girls aged nine to 14 years. The program aims to improve public health and prevent the spread of HPV and related diseases.
Minister Matsebula stated that their partnership with the GAVI Alliance aimed to strengthen and sustain the HPV vaccination program in Eswatini. “As the country is committed to drastically reducing cervical cancer by 2030, this is a crucial step in achieving that goal,” Matsebula said.
The Minister noted that in June 2023, the HPV vaccine was introduced for young girls years in partnership with other ministries and supporting partners, and it has been a great success, with over 63.6 percent of the target group being vaccinated by March 2024.
He acknowledged that more work needs to be done to achieve the elimination target, and the GAVI Alliance partnership is critical to making that happen. The Minister thanked the GAVI Middle Income Countries Strategy (MICS), the country received a grant worth US$ 1.6 Million (E30 Million) for HPV vaccine introduction.
He stated that this grant would enable trainings, capacity building, communication and demand creation initiatives, among others. With this partnership, Matsebula said his Ministry was confident that they could work towards achieving over 90 percent coverage of the target group, ensuring that all eligible girls across the country were protected.
The Minister said that the partnership would ensure that all eligible girls in Eswatini, no matter where they lived, would be protected and had the opportunity to live healthy and productive lives.
The Minister also extended a warm welcome to the GAVI Alliance and expressed hope that the partnership could be extended beyond HPV vaccine introduction to also address the issue of zero-dose children in the future. The Minister thanked the GAVI Alliance for their support and looked forward to a productive and successful partnership.
The Minister reminded the nation that all immunisation services in Eswatini were free and accessible to eligible groups, and encouraged parents and caregivers to take their children and adolescents to the nearest facilities for vaccination.
Matsebula thanked all partners in the immunisation agenda and the healthcare workers who continued to provide these vital services in health facilities across the country. The Minister stressed the importance of continued collaboration and support to ensure that all children and adolescents were protected from preventable diseases.
According to GAVI’s website, GAVI is a global alliance to protect people’s health by increasing equity in immunisation. The organisation keeps routine immunisation programmes running for millions across the globe. The organisation was established in 2000 and has been able to administer vaccines and immunisation of more than half of the world’s children. Such children include over 1 billion of those from 78 lower income countries, averting more than 17.3 million future deaths.
