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Liberia, three girls holding their HPV vaccination cards during the vaccination session.
Credit: Gavi/2016/Duncan Graham-Rowe
Geneva, 2 November 2016 - A new study published by the Lancet today finds that cervical cancer cases could rise by at least 25% by 2030 without urgent action.
The majority of cervical cancer cases are preventable thanks to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which protects girls against the virus that causes around 70% of all cervical cancer cases.
The Lancet study finds that routine HPV vaccination of girls in the world’s poorest countries over the next four years could prevent 600,000 future cervical cancer deaths globally.
Commenting on the study, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance Dr Seth Berkley said:
“Cervical cancer is one of the largest killers of women in the world’s poorest countries. The greatest tragedy is that the vast majority of cases are entirely preventable: routine immunisation with HPV vaccine could stop hundreds of thousands of needless deaths.
“With the support of our donors Gavi has helped to immunise one million girls against cervical cancer in the past three years, but this is only a start. It still leaves most girls unprotected. The global health community urgently needs to work together to boost demand and accelerate uptake universal uptake of this lifesaving vaccine.”