In attendance of the event were deputy speaker of the Assembly, Ermonela Felaj, the head of the voluntary parliamentary group for Population and Development, Klodiana Spahiu, the members of this group, Zheni Gjergji, Ilda Dhori, Ilirian Pendavinji, Elona Gjebrea, Director of the Albanian Center for Population and Development, and the head of the vaccination program at the Institute of Public Health, Rovena Daja. They spread their messages in order to promote the Papilloma Virus vaccine, which prevents cervical cancer.
The voluntary parliamentary group for Population and Development also paid a visit to the premises of Health Center No. 1 to see first-hand the vaccination process.

At the last meeting, which approved the work calendar of the group until June 2024, it was decided to organize several field visits and meetings related to reproductive health, sexual education in schools and the progress of vaccination against the Papilloma Virus.
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TIRANA, Feb  15 /ATA/ Minister of Health and Social Protection, Ogerta Manastirliu, together with directors and experts of the Institute of Public Health, saw first-hand the HPV vaccination of 13-year-old girls at the Health Center no. 6 in Kombinat.

Highlighting the high uptake of this vaccine, Manastirliu broke the news that another 2,000 doses of HPV vaccine have arrived and already been distributed in the primary healthcare system.

“We will move ahead with the national vaccination campaign against HPV and only in the first months 2,400 girls have been vaccinated. Meanwhile another 2000 vaccines have arrived and have been distributed throughout the territory. The inclusion of this vaccine in the National Vaccination Schedule makes the vaccine accessible to all the target beneficiaries, which are 13-year-old girls,” said Manastirliu.

Minister Manastirliu said that this was an achievement in the health protection of adolescent girls as part of increased awareness about the importance of HPV vaccination.

The HPV vaccine is included in the national immunization program for all girls who reach the age of 13. The HPV vaccine is offered in a single dose, based on the evaluation of the National Expert Committee on Immunization and the recommendations of the WHO expert group. As part of screening through the primary HPV test, targeting women in the age group of 40-49 years, more than 40,000 women have been screened and provided with relevant services, such as  follow-up referrals.

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