In all three countries \u2013 South Sudan<\/a>, the DRC<\/a> and Uganda<\/a> \u2013 women are at high risk from cervical cancer, with low rates of screening and access to care meaning a majority of the women who are diagnosed will die of the disease. But unlike South Sudan and the DRC, Uganda has already made the HPV vaccine<\/a> \u2013 which has been proven<\/a> capable of preventing some 90% of cases of cervical cancer \u2013 available for free to adolescent girls as part of its routine immunisation schedule.<\/p>\n Moses Duku, a refugee leader and a father of two, says that his role is to see that his people are safe and happy \u2013 and that means making sure eligible girls in the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement access the shield being offered to them.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must protect our children. In South Sudan we had no such vaccination. Here in Uganda, our girls have a better chance to grow healthy. If a parent is hesitant, we ask the child if they want the jab and then as elders sit and decide for the girl, because we came here for safety \u2013 so why deny it to one, just because of ignorance?\u201d he told VaccinesWork.<\/p>\n Ten-year-old Swail Fidaya from South Sudan, also now resident in Bidibidi, got vaccinated four months ago. Fidaya was just two when her mother fled to Uganda, escaping violence in South Sudan that left her father dead.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother told me about [cervical cancer] and the vaccine,\u201d Fidaya says. \u201cWhen the vaccinating team came, I was so happy because I had never heard anyone affected by it. I know about cervical cancer: it kills women only and only those that did not get this vaccination.\u201d<\/p>\n Talking vaccines across language barriers<\/p>\n The HPV programme was a difficult one to set up, says Hindum Afakorum, the nurse in charge of Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) activities at Jomorogo Health Centre III, a facility that serves both the refugee population at Bidibidi and the local host community.<\/p>\n Language barriers, differing social norms, and high levels of vaccine misinformation and myths among refugees made for a sticky start. But Afakorum says that over the course of the decade since the roll-out to the refugee population began, the programme has picked up pace, with many parents bringing in their children unasked.<\/p>\n We follow the same policy for both refugees and host communities. […] Our programme started in 2016 and has now picked up, achieving more than even with the host communities. And this is not only with HPV vaccine but with all vaccines and immunisation programmes<\/p>\n – Dr Immaculate Ampeire, Senior Medical Officer at Uganda\u2019s National Expanded Programme on Immunization<\/p>\n Afakorum, her colleagues and allies in the school system begin to reach out to girls and their families with information about the vaccine when the girls are nine. The target age for vaccination is ten. The biggest challenge in such a communication-heavy public health push, she says, is language.<\/p>\n \u201cWe begin the campaign from the age of nine, and in schools, and this is done constantly. We ask the children to go and teach their parents about the vaccine, seek consent to take it when the time comes. Some parents do not understand our explanations because we don\u2019t speak the same languages. But after continuous education, things have improved. Many now come willingly, and others receive the vaccine during our outreach visits,\u201d Afakorum explained.<\/p>\n Besides vaccination, they normally offer screening for cancer and precancerous lesions every three months. \u201cSadly, we have had some positive cases, and these are currently on treatment freely,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Full speed ahead<\/p>\n UNEPI\u2019s Dr Ampeire says that Uganda\u2019s HPV coverage is estimated at 100% for refugees, a figure boosted by ambitious biannual catch-up campaigns. In line with World Health Organization guidelines, the country has transitioned to a single-dose schedule from a two-dose schedule.<\/p>\n Dr Ampeire said UNEPI works closely with districts and refugee settlement leaders, especially village health teams (VHTs) who are typically refugees themselves. These teams help mobilise communities, translate health message, and guide outreach teams to girls who might otherwise be missed.<\/p>\n Unlike measles and polio, which are given immediately at refugee reception points, the HPV vaccine is administered after settlement, through facilities, schools and monthly outreach visits, Dr Ampeire explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe follow the same policy for both refugees and host communities. We also vaccinate older girls aged 11 to 14 who missed doses earlier. Our programme started in 2016 and has now picked up, achieving more than even with the host communities. And this is not only with HPV vaccine but with all vaccines and immunisation programmes\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n But despite those successes, challenges remain \u2013 and the refugee community is one in constant flux, meaning immunisation gaps can open up quickly. Dr Ampeire called on parents and other caregivers to give a chance to all girls, whether they are in school or not.<\/p>\n \u201cGeographical access, health worker shortages, misinformation and language constraints complicate our work. In refugee communities, you may have French speakers, Arabic speakers and local dialects, but health messages are often in English, so we must take extra steps. Then girls who are not in school are often left behind from sensitisation to vaccination,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 \u00a0 At a glanceFor the past ten years, refugee girls in Uganda have had the same rights…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23708,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[153],"class_list":{"0":"post-23707","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uganda","8":"tag-uganda"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Hindum](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Hindum_Afakoru_h1.jpg\")
\nHindum Afakoru, an enrolled Nurse at Jomorogo health centre III opens the refrigerator where HPV vaccines are kept.
Credit: John Musenze<\/p>\n