Pakistan vaccinates 9 million girls against cervical cancer despite online backlash
Health ministry says the HPV campaign has reached 70% of its target and is expanding to additional districts as skepticism persists in parts of the population.
Pakistan has vaccinated about 9 million adolescent girls against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, as part of a national campaign that began on Sept. 15 and aims to immunize 13 million girls aged 9 to 14. Health officials said the program has so far reached roughly 70% of its goal, a milestone achieved despite early online skepticism about the vaccine’s safety and purpose.
Health Minister Mustafa Kamal announced the progress during a public event in Karachi, where he also publicly had his daughter receive the vaccine to bolster public confidence. "By the grace of God, administering the vaccine to my daughter publicly had a huge impact," Kamal told The Associated Press. He added that the campaign’s acceptance began rising after the initial rollout, with refusals dropping and uptake climbing to 70–80% in some districts.
Even as acceptance improves, not all families are convinced. "I have heard that the vaccination is being used to make women infertile and reduce the population of Muslims," said Ali Sheikh, a mother of two in Karachi. She said social media is filled with such claims and that relatives advised against vaccination for her daughters. Health workers face a similar battleground on the ground. Shamim Anwar, a 52-year-old health worker, said the job is exhausting and that many parents refuse due to rumors. "It is very difficult work. Many parents refuse because of rumors and hesitate to let us vaccinate their daughters," she said, describing door-to-door campaigns in Karachi. "Sometimes we even face humiliation, but we tolerate it because we have to complete the vaccination target."
Cervical cancer ranks as the third most common cancer among Pakistani women, after breast and ovarian cancers, according to health authorities. Globally, it is the fourth most common cancer. Each year, between 18,000 and 20,000 Pakistani women die from the disease. Health officials emphasize that the HPV vaccine, offered free of charge, is associated with only minor side effects and is a key preventive measure against cervical cancer.
The initial campaign targeted 13 million girls in Punjab, Sindh, and Pakistan-held Kashmir, with plans to expand coverage to additional areas by 2027. Authorities hope to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030, and Pakistan has joined the ranks of the 149 countries that have added the HPV vaccine to their immunization schedules. The slogan for the drive—"one jab will do the job"—has been promoted to encourage participation across communities.
Despite the progress, officials stress that the program still faces hurdles, including persistent rumors and uneven acceptance across districts. The campaign’s organizers say the vaccine remains free, widely accessible through vaccination centers and school-based programs, and backed by ongoing public education efforts aimed at dispelling myths and reinforcing the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. As the campaign continues, health authorities expect the share of households consenting to vaccination to rise further, contributing to the long-term goal of reducing mortality and morbidity from cervical cancer in Pakistan.