Geneva, 13 December 2024 – Unitaid and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), will pilot integrated cervical cancer screening and treatment with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs through a new partnership. The initiative will build off Unitaid’s existing cervical cancer screen-and-treat programs in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, incorporating vaccination awareness and service delivery with the goal of increasing coverage for both women and girls.
Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths among women, especially in low- and middle-income countries where access to vaccination, screening and treatment is limited. Sub-Saharan Africa bears the highest burden, exacerbated by high HIV prevalence, which increases the risk of invasive cervical cancer six-fold. In Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, it is the second most common cancer among women, with mortality rates far exceeding the global average.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) global strategy to eliminate cervical cancer focuses on three main pillars: vaccination, screening, and treatment. The Gavi-Unitaid partnership leverages Gavi’s focus on vaccine delivery and Unitaid’s expertise in introducing innovative health solutions. It also responds to the need for "coordinated cooperation among partners at all levels," emphasized as a key component of WHO’s global elimination strategy, and the call for coordinated action among global health actors outlined in the Lusaka Agenda.
In 2022, Gavi and partners launched a push to revitalize HPV vaccination in lower-income countries. Meanwhile, Unitaid has worked with the governments of both countries since 2020 to introduce secondary prevention – ensuring women who cannot be vaccinated receive lifesaving screening and treatment options. While coverage rates have improved drastically, including in Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire, they remain far too low – and much more needs to be done to ensure girls and women are protected against cervical cancer.
Led by partners Expertise France (EF) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), the project will test innovative approaches to increasing vaccination coverage for girls and screening for adult women through enhanced service delivery models in schools, homes and clinics, targeting both girls and their female caretakers. The project will also emphasize targeted health communication campaigns, knowing that girls’ ability to access HPV vaccination is often influenced by their families, communities, and other decision-makers.
EF and CHAI will support ministries of health in Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria to reach girls, teachers and caretakers through school-based health communication campaigns, while also building on Unitaid’s existing community-level awareness initiatives. Leveraging the success that Unitaid-backed programs have had in introducing community-based screening, the partnership will pilot home-based delivery of HPV vaccination alongside the distribution of self-collection kits for HPV testing1 and referrals for treatment. The project will also work within existing healthcare infrastructure, including HIV treatment sites and routine health services, to better integrate cervical cancer-related services to expand awareness and uptake of lifesaving preventive measures.
“Through this partnership, we are combining two powerful tools that are critical to cervical cancer elimination – vaccination to protect young girls and screening and treatment for women who have not been vaccinated,” said Dr. Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid. “Our goal is to address the unique challenges faced by women and girls in these countries. This partnership will generate valuable insights that shape strategies for delivering information, tools, and services directly to the communities where women and girls live.”
“Vaccination against HPV is the first pillar of the cervical cancer elimination agenda, but it is also an important entry point to ensure other key health services are being delivered. It is important for countries that we find opportunities to integrate immunization into the provision of primary healthcare, which is why Gavi is proud to partner with UNITAID on vaccination, screening and treatment to protect women and girls against cervical cancer,” said Dr. Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi.
“Providing women and girls with integrated, comprehensive information and services has the potential to improve health literacy and service uptake – ultimately advancing progress on eliminating cervical cancer,” said Prebo Barango, Cross-cutting Specialist, Non-communicable Diseases and Special Initiatives at WHO. “We expect the program to generate valuable lessons for other low- and middle-income settings wishing to accelerate progress on the cervical cancer elimination agenda.”
The partnership will generate evidence on the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of integrated cervical cancer prevention approaches over one year, with the goal of scaling up successful models more widely to increase access to cervical cancer prevention in other low- and middle-income countries.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Meg Sharafudeen, Gavi
+41 79 711 55 54
msharafudeen@gavi.org
Cirũ Kariũki, Gavi
+41 79 913 94 41
ckariuki@gavi.org
Kyle Wilkinson, Unitaid
Communications Officer
+41 79 445 17 45
wilkinsonk@unitaid.who.int