Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced the Maldives is set to conduct the joint full post-introduction evaluation of the vaccination programmes for COVID-19 and the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
On December 5, HPA held a briefing meeting to mark the start of the post-introduction evaluation for the COVID-19 and HPV vaccination programmes. HPA stated the Maldives will become the first country in the world to conduct the full evaluation.
HPA stated a joint international team and local team, with supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), will undertake field visits to evaluate the roll out of the two vaccination programmes. HPA said the review will identify strengths of the programmes, as well as the areas that need improvement. The agency added the lessons learned will be useful both locally and globally.
The vaccination programme for HPV began in March 2019. The programme aimed to provide protection against cervical cancers caused by HPV.
The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme began on February 1, 2021. Over 395,000 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine in the Maldives, while over 364,000 people have received two doses.