Health officials team with a soccer tournament for cervical cancer vaccination for African girls
NORTON, Zimbabwe– Lesotho football club Lishoeshoe were losing by four goals at half-time to South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns in the final of a regional women’s under-17 tournament in Zimbabwe aimed at promoting vaccination against cervical cancer. At halftime, the lead stood at 5-0.
Yet for Lishoeshoe Nteboheleng winger Leticia Sooane, the result seemed irrelevant.
For the 16-year-old, the most important result of the tournament had little to do with scrambling in goal or disappointment at the final whistle. Rather, it was about boosting girls’ confidence in the HPV vaccine and preventing a disease that kills a woman every two minutes globally – with the burden most severe in Africa, according to GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, one of the tournament organizers.
“Participating in the tournament was very good because we had to learn and spread (the message) even though we didn’t win the final. So it was a good experience,” Sooane said as he waited to collect his runners-up medal in a rain-soaked stadium in Norton, on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare.
Sooane was among around 200 girls from six countries participating in the CAF Under-17 women’s tournament in December, organized by CAF, the governing body of African football, in collaboration with the European football body, GAVI and the health ministries of several African countries.
Dubbed the Goal Getters campaign, the initiative was first introduced in Tanzania and Eswatini early last year before expanding to Zimbabwe in December, using football to build awareness and confidence in the HPV vaccine.
Offered free, the HPV vaccine given to girls ages 9 to 14 can prevent up to 90 percent of cases of cervical cancer, saving families thousands of dollars in treatment costs later in life if girls are not vaccinated, according to GAVI.
After setbacks caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and patchy national vaccination programs, Africa has ramped up its HPV vaccination campaigns in recent years. Coverage for at least one dose of the HPV vaccine increased from 28% the previous year to 40% in 2023, second only to North, Central and South America, thanks to expanded campaigns supported by governments and GAVI, according to the World Health Organization.
The women’s football tournament is a key part of this effort, said GAVI spokesperson Olly Cann.
“One of the coolest things about the Goal Getters campaign is that it allows us to blend two things that teenage girls are passionate about, one is sports and the other is health,” Cann said. “It creates a really safe space where girls can feel confident, secure and empowered.”
The campaign launch mixed dancing and singing before the eight-team tournament kicked off. On the sidelines, mothers flocked to a nearby clinic, some drawn by the opportunity to see well-known women’s soccer figures, while getting their children vaccinated against HPV.
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a common sexually transmitted virus and the leading cause of cervical cancer. Although most infections go away naturally, some persist and can lead to cancer years later.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, killing around 350,000 women each year, according to the WHO. Africa accounts for nearly a quarter of the world’s deaths, and 19 of the 20 worst-affected countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, Cann said.
Zimbabwe is one of the five most affected countries on the continent. Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women in this country of 15 million people and kills about 2,000 women each year, according to the National Cancer Registry.
Ahead of the women’s tournament, Zimbabwe introduced a single-dose HPV vaccine, a change authorities hope to boost uptake after the two-dose regimen rolled out nationally in 2018.
Misinformation and stigma around reproductive health remain major obstacles. On a recent weekend in January, only two 10-year-old girls showed up to get vaccinated at the Budiriro polyclinic in one of Harare’s densely populated townships – a common trend health officials say forces most HPV vaccines to be administered through schools.
“Many families don’t bring their children to the clinic to get vaccinated,” said Barbara Mashonga, the nurse in charge of community mobilization at the clinic. “Even when we follow up in schools, some refuse. The biggest challenge is religious beliefs.”
“Some parents think the injections are a secret method of family planning that will prevent their children from having babies,” she said. “There are many misconceptions, which is why health education is a major part of the campaign. »
Officials say football-based initiatives can help close that gap.
“We are taking advantage of these opportunities so that our communities can become better through football,” said Nqobile Magwizi, president of the Football Association of Zimbabwe, as celebrations erupted for tournament winners Mamelodi Sundowns.
For Sooane, the message went beyond the final score.
“Cancer is a serious disease, which is why every child should be vaccinated to be protected,” she said. “So we all came here to learn more so we can keep our health intact. »
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