Pakistan Health Minister Publicly Vaccinates Daughter to Counter HPV Vaccine Misinformation

KARACHI — Pakistan’s federal health minister, Syed Mustafa Kamal, publicly administered an HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine to his daughter on Saturday as part of a high-profile drive to counter widespread misinformation and encourage uptake of the new national cervical-cancer immunisation campaign.

Speaking at the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) event in Karachi, Mustafa Kamal said the vaccine was obtained “after great effort” and urged parents to reject online rumours and religious-based objections. He framed the move as a personal example — saying he brought his “only daughter” forward so families could see the vaccine’s safety and that “if even one life is lost because of misleading propaganda, it would be a huge loss.”

The minister’s gesture comes days after Islamabad launched a nationwide HPV vaccination campaign targeting girls aged 9–14, part of a partnership with Gavi, UNICEF and the World Health Organization. Government and international partners say the programme aims to reach millions of girls and is a major step toward preventing cervical cancer — a leading cause of cancer death among Pakistani women.

Officials and health advocates have warned that misinformation — including false claims about fertility and safety — threatens uptake. Mustafa Kamal noted that many Muslim countries have already rolled out the vaccine safely and said Pakistan is among the latest nations to introduce it, urging that social-media propaganda be rejected.

Why it matters: cervical cancer claims thousands of lives in Pakistan each year; experts say vaccination, combined with improved screening and treatment, is the most effective long-term strategy to reduce deaths. The high-visibility vaccination of a cabinet minister’s daughter is intended to rebuild public trust ahead of the mass rollout.