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Communication And Dialogue With Islamic Religious Scholars: A Focus Group Discussion To Enhance Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Awareness And Uptake In Northern Nigeria

In northern Nigeria, a focus group discussion with 13 senior Islamic scholars (Imams) from diverse ideological backgrounds was conducted in Gombe one week before the state’s HPV vaccine launch in May 2024, with the aim of surfacing barriers to vaccine acceptance and building religious endorsement ahead of rollout. Scholars reached consensus that Islam permits — […]

HPV Vaccination PHPV Vaccination Determinant in Cameroon: A Cross-Sectional Nationwide Health Workers Survey

In Cameroon, HPV vaccination coverage remained below 20% until 2023, when the introduction of a single-dose gender-neutral schedule combined with periodic intensification of routine immunisation (PIRI) raised coverage to approximately 60% among girls. A nationwide cross-sectional survey of 1,225 health workers conducted between August 2023 and July 2024 found that 83% were willing to vaccinate […]

Efficacy Of Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Among Kenyan Adolescents And Young Adults Living With HIV Nine Years After Initial Vaccination

In Kenya, a nine-year follow-up of a cohort of 180 adolescents living with HIV who received three doses of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine at ages 9–14 found sustained vaccine-specific protection, with zero persistent infections detected for HPV types 11, 16, or 18 among 151 evaluable participants. Only two participants (1.3%) had any vaccine-genotype persistent infection, […]

Leaving 22 million girls unprotected from HPV: Impact of adopting a single-age target with low vaccination coverage in Kenya

In Kenya, a static cohort modelling study evaluated 12 HPV vaccination policy scenarios to inform the country’s cervical cancer elimination trajectory toward 2030. A prompt switch to a single-dose strategy combined with rapid coverage scale-up would avert an additional 249,700 DALYs compared with the current two-dose programme at approximately 50% coverage, while simultaneously reducing both […]

Formative insights to optimize the systematic medical visits, an integrated package of health services including HPV vaccination, in Côte d’Ivoire.

In Côte d’Ivoire, the national systematic medical visits (VMS) programme has integrated HPV vaccination since September 2023, combining it with multicomponent adolescent health services including screenings, nutrition assessments, and reproductive health counselling. Despite coverage gains, implementation remains uneven across delivery settings, with logistical gaps, limited intersectoral coordination, and inequitable cost distribution identified as key barriers […]

Using Routine Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Data to Guide High-Impact Community Outreach in Nigeria

In Nigeria, routine HPV vaccination coverage among nine-year-old girls remains low in Kano State, constrained by limited awareness, persistent myths, and geographic and economic barriers. Pathfinder International used DHIS2 data to identify low-coverage local government areas and implemented targeted community outreach in collaboration with State Primary Health Care Development Boards, deploying trained vaccination teams alongside […]

Overcoming Barriers To Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Uptake In Sierra Leone: Insights From Formative Research In Four Low-Performing Districts

In Sierra Leone, HPV vaccination coverage fell sharply from over 100% in 2022 to 31.3% in 2023, prompting CHAI and the Ministry of Health EPI programme to conduct formative research across the four lowest-performing districts — Bonthe, Koinadugu, Kenema, and Western Area Rural. A mixed-methods study combining facility data audits and semi-structured interviews with healthcare […]

Expanding HPV vaccine Programs to Older Adolescent Girls or Young Boys: Immunization Stakeholder Perspectives in 11 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Semi-structured interviews with 22 national immunization program managers and advisors across 11 LMICs conducted between May and August 2025 examined stakeholder perspectives on expanding HPV vaccination to older adolescent girls (15–18 years) and young boys (9–14 years). Slightly more stakeholders prioritized older girls, citing continued vaccine effectiveness post-sexual debut, independent health-seeking capacity, and evidence from […]

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