Dear Fatima,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on HPV vaccination as a public health advocate and researcher at YOUNGO, Pakistan.
I wanted to follow up on a few points you made:
1. "people believe in the bogus concepts and show resistance when someone tries to educate or make them aware" What are the main false beliefs that people have and who is responsible for spreading this misinformation? In your experience, are these beliefs fixed or can they be changed? How?
2. "we need to emphasize polite educational ways, such as educating kids about health, even from kindergarten" Do you or other HIFA members have any experience on health education for very young children? I am aware of the work of Clare Hanbury, Childrn for Health, but I think this work is targeted to an older child group. With regards to education about the HPV vaccine, presumably a good age would be 1-2 years before the child is due to be vaccinated, so perhaps age 10-12?
3. "there should be massive surveillance on social media on people who are spreading misinformation or disinformation, and their videos should be removed" Do you have any examples of this happening in Pakistan? Indeed is it happening anywhere in the world, and if so what are the consequences, positive or negative?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org