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Department of Health and Wellness

Protect your daughter’s future – The HPV vaccine saves lives

For more than a decade, parents across the Western Cape have trusted our dedicated healthcare workers to protect their daughters against human papillomavirus (HPV) – a leading cause of cervical cancer. Thanks to this commitment, thousands of young girls receive the HPV vaccine every year, securing their health and safeguarding their futures.

Once again, we are calling on parents and caregivers to take this important step. From 3 February to 31 March 2025, school health teams from the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness will be visiting public- and special schools to administer the single-dose HPV vaccine to eligible girls aged nine and older. This vaccine is safe, free, and highly effective—a simple step that can make a lifetime of difference.

Since the introduction of the school-based HPV vaccination programme in 2014, we have successfully administered over 350,000 vaccines, reaching nearly 1,200 schools annually in the Western Cape. This reflects the strong support from parents and communities who recognise the life-saving impact of vaccinations.

By now, parents and caregivers should have received consent forms and information from schools about the HPV vaccine’s benefits. If you haven’t signed the form yet, we urge you to do so—your decision today could help protect your daughter and a young girl in your care for decades to come.

Western Cape Minister of Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger, encourages all parents and caregivers to take advantage of this opportunity. She says, The HPV vaccine protects girls by ensuring they remain safe from cervical cancer later in life. Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among South African women and, heartbreakingly, the one that claims the most lives. By vaccinating our young girls today, we are taking a powerful step towards a future where cervical cancer is one less thing for our women to worry about. Please sign the consent form and help protect your child.”

For those who may have missed previous vaccination opportunities, catch-up doses will be available later in the year for girls in private and independent schools, as well as those who were not vaccinated in previous campaigns.

Sonia Botha, the Western Cape coordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, highlights the programme’s success, “The HPV vaccination programme achieves over 80% coverage annually, demonstrating high acceptance in communities and benefitting more girls for decades to come. This vaccine provides a unique opportunity for us to join hands with communities and invest in the health of women and the future of girls in the Western Cape. My granddaughter has had the same HPV vaccine to protect her against cervical cancer. I would like to implore fellow parents and caregivers of eligible girls to choose to vaccinate against HPV this year.”

This programme is part of a global initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health threat by 2030. The first step towards this goal is ensuring that 90% of girls are fully vaccinated against HPV by the age of 15. With widespread vaccination, we can eliminate HPV in the near future and protect generations to come.

Let’s stand together for the health and well-being of our young girls. Sign the consent form today and help build a healthier future for all.

 

Media Enquiries
Robyn Thomson 
Spokesperson for the Provincial Minister of Health and Wellness 
Email: robyn.thomson@westerncape.gov.za