Sunday the 4th of March 2018, marked the 1st annual International HPV Awareness Day, organised by the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS).
CancerAware is pleased to be an Operating Partner in Nigeria of the International Papillomavirus Society for this campaign.
The global campaign tagged “Give Love, Not HPV’ is the first of its kind and aims to increase worldwide understanding of HPV and how it affects us all. It calls on everyone to take action to protect their family, friends and partners whether that is by getting informed, getting vaccinated or getting screened for HPV.
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are sexually transmitted viruses that are very common worldwide. There are more than 200 different HPV types, and most sexually active men and women will acquire at least one genital HPV type at some point in their lifetime. Some types of HPVs are known to cause certain cancers such as cervical, anal and oropharyngeal cancer.
Worldwide, cervical cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in women and an estimated 270,000 women die of cervical cancer every year.
According to Dr Silvia De San Jose, President of International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS), "There are countless things we want to give our loved ones, protection, comfort, and security. But we don't want to give them something that is hard to talk about: HPV. This day is about spreading knowledge to people around the world about human papillomaviruses and their associated diseases, and the measures that they can take to protect themselves and their loved ones."
