Geneva — 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.
Notes to Editors
1. HPV testing is one of the most effective ways to identify a woman at risk of developing cervical cancer and linking her to treatment before cancer develops. Self-collection allows a woman to perform her own vaginal swab for testing without the need for an invasive pelvic examination, which can serve as a deterrent to screening.
About Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the world's children against some of the world's deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisations that fund Gavi's work here.
Since its inception in 2000, Gavi has helped to immunise a whole generation - over 1.1 billion children - and prevented more than 18.8 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology - from drones to biometrics - to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency. Learn more at www.gavi.org and connect with us on Facebook and X (Twitter).
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About Unitaid
Unitaid is a global health organization that saves lives by making new health products available and affordable for people in low- and middle-income countries. Unitaid works with partners to identify innovative treatments, tests and tools, help tackle the market barriers that are holding them back, and get them to the people who need them most - fast. Since Unitaid was created in 2006, the organization has unlocked access to more than 100 groundbreaking health products to help address the world's biggest health challenges, including HIV, TB and malaria; women's and children's health; and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Every year, more than 300 million people benefit from the products Unitaid has helped roll out. Unitaid is hosted by the World Health Organization. Learn more about our efforts to eliminate cervical cancer. www.unitaid.org
