HPV: Men under threat

•Males more infected, have become endangered species

From Fred Ezeh, Abuja

Outcome of recent research by a team of gynaecologists has indicated that men have become an endangered species when it comes to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).

This was, however, contrary to the general belief that HPV with cervical cancer as end result in human health was a disease exclusive for women and girls.

It was also discovered that the curve for HPV infection as well as cervical cancer is sliding down, meaning that younger people are coming down with the disease as against what was obtained in the past where older people are associated with the disease.

This, the report noted, could simply be traced to the fact that people are getting sexually exposed or sexually active at a very younger age than the previous case where many get to maturity before becoming sexually active.

In 2023, the HPV vaccine was introduced into the National Immunization Programme (NIP), but exclusively for females between the ages of 9 to 14. However, there were some concerns that males were not included in the plans, thus forgetting the fact that HPV comes from unprotected sex, which involves a male and female.

At the 2026 International HPV Awareness Day (IHAD) on the theme “trans disciplinary papillomavirus research in Nigeria: setting up an agenda,” various stakeholders raised the alarm about the rising cases of HPV infections among males.

They demanded urgent action from global leaders to reinforce behaviour and sexual discipline in order to contain what could snowball into a public health crisis if not well managed.

Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, President-elect, Union for International Cancer Centre and Dr. Salma Anas, were among other stakeholders who championed the discussions and expository on the dynamism of HPV, and measure required to tackle the challenges.

Also, there was impressive representation from the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT), National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS), National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA), as well as other relevant bodies like the National Taskforce on Cervical Cancer Elimination, and many NGOs/CSOs.

Snippets of the findings

A professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Prof. Imran Morhason-Bello, said the research clearly indicated that HPV is not synonymous with cervical cancer neither is it exclusive for women and girls, but rather a disease that affect male and female, and even people of other sexual orientations.

To further justify his position, he made a presentation at an event to mark the 2026 International HPV Awareness Day (IHAD) in Abuja, with the snippets of the research outcome specifically on HPV, cervical cancer, as well as other findings.

He said the narration that HPV is synonymous with cervical cancer is totally wrong. He noted that aside from cervical cancer; the research also confirmed that HPV could cause cancer of the mouth, cancer of the throat, cancer of the anus, and penile cancer too.

“In fact, recent research shows that it could also be associated with heart disease. I made a presentation at an event last year where I highlighted the outcome of a study that evaluated people that have had heart attacks in the US. Researchers looked at all the variables in them, and the only thing they could commonly observe in over 250,000 people was that they have been previously exposed to HPV. It means HPV could be responsible for the heart attack. So, the world should know that HPV is a virus that is evolving, and they should know that.”

He stressed the importance of awareness in the fight against HPV.  “We should let people know that HPV is largely acquired through unprotected sex. This sex does not mean penile-vaginal sex alone. There are other forms of sex such as oral sex. A lot of Nigerians are engaging in anal sex lately and many in masturbation, which are non-penetrating forms of sex that could potentially flare up the infection, and we need to understand these practices within the community.

“Often times, the government creates programmes from an executive perspective, thinking for the community but often doesn’t engage the community to know what their own challenges or understanding are. The fact that somebody doesn’t have a western education does not mean that person does not have intelligence or initiative.

“To this end, the government should help Nigerians to untangle many of these challenges, particularly the challenge of HPV vaccine hesitancy. The reason for hesitancy in Lagos might be different from Nasarawa, Zamfara, or Rivers. But when we engage people, they will be able to tell us what was their concern, why they do not want to take this vaccine. That is important.”

Why FG chose females for HPV vaccine

The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare rolled out a HPV vaccination across the country in 2023 targeting only females of a certain age, nine to 14.

The experts observed that the decision could be very effective in the fight against cervical cancer, but there’s the need to consider the fact that males are also carriers and could easily transmit the virus if not cared for.

So far, an appreciable number of girls have been vaccinated nationwide through the platform of the NPHCDA.

Meanwhile, Morhason-Bello said he observed that the reason for the decision could be because the government was looking for the shortest route to achieve herd immunity against HPV.

He explained that herd immunity is when the country or a particular community is able to vaccinate a population to a level to break the chain of transmission. “So, the cheapest way to achieve it is to vaccinate girls. But, what is the ideal? The ideal is what is called gender-neutral vaccination. Vaccinate the girls and the boys. In fact, there is now a new approach called HPV Faster. It means vaccinating adult women who did not have the opportunity to have that vaccination when they were younger. But, the problem is that it would be very expensive for Nigeria to get them to do that. That’s perhaps why the Nigerian government went for the cheapest route, which is targeting the females.

“There’s this misconception that vaccinating adult women won’t be effective. That’s wrong! The vaccine will still be potent even if you are sexually active. It can be effective up to the age 49. So, the decision to limit the HPV vaccination to young girls was, perhaps, because of the cost.

“In younger females, you don’t need screening before you could administer the vaccine unlike the adult women who must pass through thorough screening which is costly. GAVI is currently supporting the HPV immunization.”

He suggested that the government should ensure that they continue to vaccinate girls till they reach herd immunity, which is when about 90 per cent of the girls are vaccinated. Afterwards, the adult women could benefit from the vaccination.

Stakeholders’ suggestion

Nigeria Country Ambassador, International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS), Dr. Maureen Umeakuewulu, in her submissions, highlighted the importance of grassroots sensitization, and deep engagement of traditional, religious and community leaders in educating the people about HPV and what it could do.

She said: “The HPV campaign must be all-encompassing. It’s not what only governments could do. We have to bring in the communities, the religious leaders, the disabled people on board. Apart from coming together to discuss, we must go into the communities, talk to them, involve them in the activities we are doing.

“In this recent International HPV Awareness Day (IHAD) event in Abuja, we invited Christian and Muslim women. We also invited people from the communities and survivors. That’s one special area we don’t explore maximally. We need to move along with the survivors so they could speak to the communities with experiences. Remember when the HPV vaccine came on board, some said it was a scam. Some said it could cause infertility. But when we moved with the survivors, with the community, religious leaders, and talked to them, they were able to follow.

“Some communities need their leaders to talk to them. And also, when you bring the knowledge that cervical cancer is taking our women on a daily basis, deaths associated with cervical cancer, and take it down to the communities, you will see that we have gone a long way in addressing the issue of persistence, resistance, and other things associated with cervical cancer.

“Also, I have to mention that apart from carrying the advocacy, we also have to do something as a nation. If you go to major hospitals for cervical cancer screening, you will pay. I think it’s time that we make it free for every hospital to screen any woman. As you’re screening the woman, screen her free. I think Nigeria can afford that.

“We believe that even with all the advocacy we are doing, we are still losing it. So, I think we have to, in summary, bring everybody on board; the religious leaders, the communities. I noticed that some of my patients said that, after talking to them, they would go and talk to their pastors, and they would listen to their pastors and Imams.

We need to bring the pastors on board. If not, we can be talking, and the pastors, their Imams, and others, are not giving them what they’re supposed to. So it should be all encompassing.

The President, IPVS Nigeria, Prof. Mohammed Manga, in his remarks, said that Nigeria has recorded significant and promising milestones in its efforts to eliminate cervical cancer and combat other related diseases.

He noted that through strengthening and supporting government organisations such as NICRAT, NPHCDA, NACA, the formation/establishment of relevant bodies like the National Taskforce on Cervical Cancer Elimination, and through the activities of many NGOs/CSOs, the coast is fairly clear to understand the recorded successes while planning to confront the obvious gaps and challenges from all perspectives, and by all those concerned.

He said that despite the successes recorded, uptake of HPV vaccine is still not as optimum. Cervical screenings/diagnostics are weak and largely opportunistic while the treatments/palliative supports still need to be improved. “However, the future is very promising if we all come together to jointly confront the challenges while building on the achieved successes.”

He congratulated the IPVS and the entire HPV world on the occasion of the IHAD across the globe. “This follows numerous significant expansions/improvement in the IPVS with membership spreading across more countries and increasing in number aside from the addition of more country ambassadors and formal recognition of country chapters including ours.

“Educational activities have become more frequent and better packaged through sessions and many impactful webinars. I implore all of us who are not yet members of lPVs to take advantage of the relatively negligible amount paid as dues to join the global family of experts and enthusiasts in the fight against HPV and other related diseases.”

Morhason-Bello also suggested that the government increase the funding for research so that more findings could be made for a better management of HPV.

“Creating awareness is very important. We should let people know that HPV is largely acquired through unprotected sex. And this sex does not mean penile-vaginal sex alone. It could be acquired through other forms of sex such as oral and anal sex.”