Faith vs medicine: The battle over girls' cancer protection

The Kenyan government's ambitious project to protect young girls against cervical cancer has encountered significant challenges, with recent data painting a concerning picture of vaccination rates across the country.

According to Unicef's State of African Children 2025 Statistical Compendium, only three in ten eligible girls received the potentially life-saving human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in 2023. This 33 per cent vaccination rate highlights a critical gap in public health efforts aimed at preventing a disease that continues to claim thousands of Kenyan women's lives annually.

Oncologists emphasise that the HPV vaccine offers extraordinary protection—more than 90 per cent effectiveness against HPV types 16 and 18, which cause most cervical cancer cases—when administered before exposure to the virus, ideally between ages nine and 14.

"The fight against cervical cancer is not just about statistics; it's about saving lives," former Health Cabinet Secretary Debra Barasa emphasised during a cervical cancer awareness media briefing in January. "We must take bold steps to ensure every woman and girl has access to preventive services that will protect them from this deadly disease."

Read: New technique could enhance cervical cancer screening

Behind these concerning statistics lies a complex web of challenges, including vocal opposition from some medical professionals. The Kenya Catholic Doctors Association (KCDA) has questioned the vaccine's rollout on both safety and moral grounds, arguing that sexual transmission of HPV makes vaccination unnecessary for young girls.

"HPV is a sexually transmitted infection and disease and, therefore, children who are chaste and faithful adults are not at risk," KCDA members have contended, further claiming that "90 per cent of all HPV infections resolve spontaneously and are destroyed by natural immunity," suggesting mass vaccination is unnecessary.

These conflicting messages have contributed to vaccine hesitancy among parents and communities, complicating the government's prevention efforts. The consequences are stark: the latest Global Cancer Observatory 2022 statistics reveal that cervical cancer causes 5,845 new cases and claims 3,591 lives annually in Kenya, making it the second most common cancer among Kenyan women after breast cancer.

Read: Tackling disparities, overcoming barriers in cervical cancer fight

When Kenya introduced the HPV vaccine in 2019, targeting 10-year-old girls, health officials had hoped for widespread adoption. However, uptake has remained stubbornly low, with just 33 per cent of the targeted population receiving the first dose in 2020 and a mere 16 per cent returning for the crucial second dose.

While the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted immunisation programs worldwide, misinformation has played an equally significant role in suppressing demand for the vaccine in Kenya.

Dr Barasa has emphasised the need for a fundamental shift in Kenya's healthcare approach: "We must take bold steps to ensure every woman and girl has access to preventive services that will protect them from this deadly disease." She underscored that eliminating cervical cancer is achievable with concerted efforts from healthcare providers, media, and the public to transform awareness into life-saving action.

Read: How Kenya can step up fight against HPV-related cancers

The contrast with high-vaccination countries is striking. Australia, which reported HPV vaccine coverage of 80 per cent in females and 76 per cent in males in 2019, has already documented significant declines in HPV infections and precancerous lesions, with expectations of dramatically reduced cervical cancer rates in coming years.

For Kenya, the path forward remains challenging but clear: overcoming vaccine hesitancy through education, combating misinformation, and ensuring that protection against cervical cancer becomes accessible to all girls who need it—not just three in ten.

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