8 developing countries to start HPV vaccine demonstration programs

The GAVI Alliance announced Monday that eight developing countries will receive its support to start human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine demonstration programs, protecting more than 180,000 girls against the leading cause of cervical cancer. In the announcement made on the World Cancer Day, GAVI said that the programs will give the eight countries, Ghana, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone and Tanzania, the opportunity to test their ability to put in place the systems needed to roll out the vaccines nationally. Seven countries will begin introducing HPV vaccines this year targeting girls aged 9 to 13, mainly through schools but also community health programs to reach girls who do not go to school, while Tanzania is planning to start next year, according to GAVI. GAVI CEO Seth Berkley said that the Alliance plans to support more than 20 countries to vaccinate approximately one million girls with HPV vaccines through pilot projects by 2015. By 2020, more than 30 million girls are expected to have been vaccinated in more than 40 countries with GAVI support, he said. "Introducing the HPV vaccine in developing countries is the start of a global effort to protect all girls against cervical cancer," he said. GAVI statistics showed that of the 275,000 women who die of cervical cancer annually, 85 percent live in the world's poorest countries. Cervical cancer deaths are expected to increase to 430,000 each year by 2030, virtually all in developing countries. Immunising girls before sexual initiation and before exposure to HPV infection is a key strategy to preventing cervical cancer. Vaccination against HPV is only effective before the person is infected with the virus.