DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Health authorities on Wednesday reviewed preparations for the upcoming cervical cancer prevention vaccination campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with officials stressing the need for effective public awareness and community engagement to ensure maximum coverage of girls aged 9 to 14 years, said an official statement.
The statement stated that the decisions were taken at a meeting of the Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) Sub-Committee, chaired by the Additional Secretary Health and Provincial Coordinator of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
It said the meeting discussed strategies to strengthen advocacy, communication and social mobilisation for the province-wide campaign, which will target girls in schools, madrassas and out-of-school communities.
The chair directed that awareness activities should comprehensively cover all three target groups to maximise outreach and improve vaccine acceptance.
Participants also reviewed revised information, education and communication (IEC) materials and agreed to incorporate recommendations made during the meeting before their finalisation.
The committee discussed a draft refusal management framework for addressing vaccine hesitancy and approved it in principle, while recommending shorter response timelines for low-, medium- and high-risk cases.
The meeting also reviewed a strategy for engaging the Muttahida Ulema Board, agreeing that consultations would begin with its core members before being expanded to representatives of all schools of thought to build support for the campaign.
It was further decided that the advocacy, communication and social mobilisation component of district action plans would be finalised at a dedicated Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) meeting.
The participants also agreed to include cervical cancer prevention and awareness in Clinical Pathological Conferences (CPCs) at tertiary care teaching hospitals to enhance awareness among healthcare professionals and strengthen clinical preparedness.
