Mbabane-Mpendulo Lukhele is a happy father following his decision to allow his daughter Nosimilo Lukhele to take the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine which protects against cervical cancer.

Ten (10)-)-year-old Nosimilo took the HPV vaccine in June 2023, when health workers visited her school, Peak Central Primary School, during the HPV introduction campaign conducted by the government. 

The campaign was launched by Her Royal Highness Inkhosikati LaMatsebula on 12 June 2023 and ended on 30 June 2023. Health workers visited schools around the country and other community centres to vaccinate school-going and out-of-school girls between the ages of 9 and 14. The campaign was supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), which provided both technical and financial support through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, funding, UNICEF, Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Africa Centre for Disease Control (CDC), PEPFAR and MSD.  HPV vaccination in the country currently stands at 73.3%.

Lukhele says when his daughter first relayed the HPV vaccination information, like many other parents, he did not understand, hence it was not easy for him to give consent. “At first, I did not understand because many things were being said about the vaccine in the public space. Us, men, especially, are usually the last people in the family to understand information about health interventions,” he said.

There has been a lot of misinformation about the vaccine, some of which is circulating in Eswatini. This has the potential to deprive some children of this lifesaving intervention. Lukhele mentioned that men in most instances are the last to understand and accept health interventions, yet they play an important role in the health decisions of their families.  “Some people are always negative when it comes to health services and we, the non-health workers, always listen to these rumours, which in many cases are aimed at discrediting health interventions, thus negatively influencing people’s decisions about taking the health services. Some people were saying the vaccine will cause infertility among our children,” he says.

The Ministry of Health and teachers took their time to educate the public about the vaccine. Several media campaigns and social mobilization activities were carried out by the Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE) team to educate the public about the vaccine. Lukhele said through those health education services he was able to get more information about the HPV vaccine and was convinced to allow his daughter to benefit from the school health vaccination. 

“I was able to get the understanding about the vaccine. Thus, together with my wife, we allowed our daughter to take the vaccine so that she is protected from cervical cancer. I decided to allow my child for her own protection because this is not about me, but my child. These children are the future, hence their protection from any harm is important,” he said. 

HPV is a virus that causes cancers, mainly of the reproductive system, including cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is the leading cancer among women ages 15‒49 years in Eswatini, fuelled by the high numbers of HIV cases. Eswatini records approximately 360 cases of cervical cancer each year and 27% of these cases result in death. Currently, a total of 2129 women are living with cancer in the Kingdom. In the last five years, 771 women have died due to cancer-related illness. 

HPV vaccines are highly safe and efficacious in preventing infection with HPV types 16 and 18, which are together responsible for causing approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases globally. The vaccines are also highly efficacious in preventing precancerous cervical lesions caused by these virus types. 

Lukhele said he also heard on the radio that cervical cancer is a big problem, affecting a lot of women in the country and globally. “You find that some are diagnosed very late because they start by taking traditional concoctions trying to cure the disease. I would like to encourage Emaswati to stand up against cervical cancer, and allow children to take the HPV vaccine. Let us do everything that we can to protect our future generations from this disease. Even if the older generations are not protected, now that there is protection, let us do it for our future generations,” he said. 

Nosimilo, on the other hand, expressed her appreciation to WHO and the government for bringing the vaccine to the country. She stated that during the campaign, the school principal told the learners that health workers would be coming to the school to vaccinate, and they were given consent forms to give to their parents to sign. 

“They told us that cervical cancer affects only women and they encouraged us to vaccinate. The teacher told us how HPV is spread, so I took the consent form and gave it to my mother and told her what they had said at school. My parents signed the consent form, and I took it back to school. I urge my peers to get the HPV vaccine so that they can protect themselves because cancer is very dangerous,” she said.

Meanwhile, WHO Representative Dr Susan Tembo reiterated that all countries including Eswatini have committed to eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030, with targets including vaccinating 90% of girls with the HPV vaccine by age 15. She extended gratitude to teachers, school principals, school health and health workers, as well as parents, families, and communities for their commitment to providing children with both education and the health they deserve.