When 24-year-old university student Deborah (not her real name) first heard the words “Human Papillomavirus, HPV” she assumed it was another rare disease that affected only women living overseas.
“I’ve heard about HIV, hepatitis and even monkeypox,” she says. “But HPV? I didn’t even know it existed.”
Deborah’s reaction is far from unusual.
Across Nigeria, millions of people have little or no knowledge of Human Papillomavirus (HPV), despite it being the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. Even among those who have heard the name, many mistakenly believe it affects only women or causes only cervical cancer. Others have never heard that a vaccine exists to prevent the cancers it can cause.
Health experts say this lack of awareness is creating a dangerous gap in the country’s fight against cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases.
The virus hiding in plain sight
HPV is so common that nearly every sexually active person will come into contact with it at some point in their lives. The virus spreads through intimate skin-to-skin contact, including vaginal, anal and oral sex.
In most cases, the body’s immune system clears the infection naturally without symptoms. Because people often feel perfectly healthy, they may never realize they are carrying the virus or unknowingly pass it to others.
However, some high-risk strains remain in the body for years, gradually damaging cells. Over time, these persistent infections can develop into cancers of the cervix, anus, throat, penis, vulva and vagina.
Despite these risks, awareness remains strikingly low.
Several studies conducted in Nigeria have found that only about one in every three people has heard of HPV. Even fewer understand that it is sexually transmitted or know that persistent infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer.
“I thought cervical cancer just happens”
At a busy market in Abuja, traders interviewed admitted they had never heard of HPV.
“I know about cervical cancer because people talk about it on the radio sometimes,” says 45-year-old Grace Emmanuel. “But I thought it just happens. I didn’t know a virus causes it.”
Nearby, another trader, Ibrahim Musa, says he assumed HPV was “a women’s disease.”
“No one has ever told us men can also get HPV-related cancers,” he says.
These misconceptions are common.
While cervical cancer is the most recognized disease caused by HPV, men can also develop cancers of the throat, anus and penis linked to high-risk HPV infections. Men can also transmit the virus even if they have no symptoms.
A vaccine many have never heard of
Perhaps even more concerning than the lack of awareness about HPV is the low awareness of the vaccine that can prevent it.
Medical experts describe the HPV vaccine as one of the most effective cancer-prevention tools available. It protects against the strains responsible for most cervical cancers and many cases of genital warts.
The vaccine works best when given before exposure to the virus, which is why health authorities recommend vaccinating children and young adolescents before they become sexually active.
Yet in many Nigerian communities, misinformation continues to spread faster than facts.
Rumours that the vaccine causes infertility have discouraged some parents from allowing their daughters to receive it. In some rural areas, cultural beliefs and limited access to reliable health information further reduce vaccine acceptance.
Public health workers say these misconceptions have no scientific basis, but they remain a significant obstacle to vaccination efforts.
Closing the knowledge gap
Nigeria has begun expanding HPV vaccination through routine immunization programmes and community-based campaigns. Schools, religious institutions, healthcare workers and civil society organisations are increasingly being engaged to educate families about the virus and encourage vaccination.
Health advocates argue that awareness is just as important as vaccine availability.
“You cannot prevent a disease people know nothing about,” says one public health educator involved in community sensitization programmes. “When parents understand that the vaccine prevents cancer—not infertility—they become much more willing to protect their children.”
Experts also stress that awareness should include boys and men, not only girls and women.
Since HPV affects both sexes, educating everyone about transmission, prevention and early detection is essential to reducing infections and cancer cases.
Beyond awareness
For many Nigerians, HPV remains an invisible threat—not because it is rare, but because it is rarely discussed.
Unlike diseases that make headlines during outbreaks, HPV often works quietly over many years. By the time symptoms appear, serious damage may already have occurred.
Health professionals say changing this reality begins with simple conversations in homes, schools, churches, mosques and communities.
Knowing that HPV exists, understanding how it spreads, recognizing that it affects both men and women, and learning that vaccination can prevent many HPV-related cancers could save thousands of lives.
The virus may be silent, but public awareness does not have to be.
As Nigeria continues its efforts to reduce cervical cancer and improve public health, one message remains clear: the greatest danger may not be HPV itself, but the fact that too many people still do not know it exists.
