Ledibane, Tladi D.Ledibane, Neo R.T.Matlala, Moliehi2024-01-292024-01-292023-01-31Ledibane, T.D., Ledibane, N.R. & Matlala, M. Performance of the school-based human papillomavirus vaccine uptake in Tshwane, South Africa. Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases 2023;38(1), a492. https://DOI.org/10.4102/sajid.v38i1.492.2312-0053 (print)2313-1810 (online)10.4102/sajid.v38i1.492http://hdl.handle.net/2263/94134BACKGROUND : Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is an effective preventive measure against HPV infection and HPV-associated cervical cancer. South Africa introduced its HPV vaccination programme in 2014. OBJECTIVES : The authors assessed the uptake of HPV vaccine in the school-based HPV vaccination programme in Tshwane Health District for the year 2019 and compared the vaccine uptake (VU) between fee-paying and no-fee public schools. METHOD : The study method was cross-sectional, using routine electronic health records of the HPV vaccination programme. The study population included all Grade 4 school-girls between the ages of 9 and 14 years who attended public schools in 2019 in the Tshwane Health District. RESULTS : The pooled VU for the Tshwane Health District was 72.0%, considerably lower than the target of 80.0%. The number of girls who received dose one and dose two in 2019 was 16 122 (73.0%) and 15 734 (71.0%), respectively, excluding the catch-up figures. In addition, 82.2% of fee-paying schools achieved VU of above 80% versus 65.5% of no-fee schools (p = 0.022). CONCLUSION : The lower than target levels of VU for HPV among girls in Tshwane Health District, particularly in those attending no-fee schools, is concerning. Interventions should be adopted to optimise programme performance so as to achieve the target VU of 80%. CONTRIBUTION : This study showed the need to strengthen sensitisation and social mobilisation efforts, particularly among no-fee schools to improve the VU.en© 2023. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.Human papillomavirus vaccineVaccine uptakeSchool-based vaccination programmeTshwaneHuman papillomavirus (HPV)South Africa (SA)SDG-03: Good health and well-beingArticle