Moderated plenary question-and-answer session on the four country updates (Senegal, The Gambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria), led by session co-chairs Alex Vorsters (University of Antwerp) and Elaine Charurat (Jhpiego). The discussion prioritises clarifying and application-oriented questions on programme status, data systems, financing, and equitable reach.
Language: English
Country Update – Nigeria: Strengthening HPV data systems and their linkage with HIV records
Michael Kokoete of Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency presents efforts to strengthen HPV data systems and link them with HIV records. Following introduction, Nigeria has vaccinated over 17.9 million girls through MAC phases 1 and 2, routine services, and integrated delivery. The update focuses on data quality, registry strengthening, and database integration with […]
Country Update – Côte d’Ivoire: Progress of the multi-age cohort (MAC) campaign and coverage gains
Dr Innocent Massenon of Côte d’Ivoire’s EPI presents the roll-out of the multi-age cohort (MAC) campaign and the resulting coverage gains. The update covers district-level micro-planning workshops, identification of girls aged 9–18 across all districts, and multisectoral communication and orientation between the ministries of health and education. It reflects on campaign reach, results, and lessons […]
Country Update – The Gambia: Improving coverage tracking through the national HPV e-tracker
Dr Johm Mbayang of The Gambia’s EPI presents how the national HPV e-tracker is improving coverage tracking. In the November 2025 single-dose cycle the programme reached 94% coverage against a target of 36,538 adolescent girls, while the e-tracker — a girl-level electronic registry deployed across 99 public health facilities — flagged 11,648 missed girls. Of […]
Country Update – Senegal: Routinising HPV vaccination within the EPI
Dr Alassane Ndiaye of Senegal’s EPI presents the country’s progress in embedding HPV vaccination into routine immunisation. Since the 2018 introduction, the vaccine has been delivered through health facilities, schools, and community outreach, with coverage tracked from 2025 into mid-2026. The update reviews implementation of the national action plan drafted at CHIC 2025 Nairobi, focusing […]
Strengthening human papillomavirus vaccination programs through multi-country peer learning: lessons from the CHIC initiative
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is a cornerstone of cervical cancer prevention, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the burden of disease remains high1. The World Health Organization (WHO) HPV Vaccine Introduction Clearing House reported that 147 countries (of 194 reporting) had fully introduced the HPV vaccine into their national schedules as of 20242. […]
Barriers to HPV vaccine introduction and revitalization in sub-Saharan francophone African countries – A qualitative descriptive study
The pace of progress of HPV vaccine introduction in Sub-Saharan francophone African countries has been limited, particularly in conflict-affected countries. To better understand the barriers affecting the introduction and sustainability of the HPV vaccine, we conducted a qualitative study from January – April 2024 informed by insights from a multi-country HPV symposium. Our study explored […]
Case studies on the progress of cervical cancer screening programs in Bhutan, India, and Türkiye
In this case series, Burdier and colleagues describe the contrasting progress of cervical cancer screening programmes in Bhutan, India, and Türkiye, drawing on presentations from the CHIC South Asia Symposium (New Delhi, 2022). India, despite national VIA-based guidelines since 2016, reports only 1.9% ever-screened coverage among women aged 30–49, constrained by infrastructure gaps and absent […]
Effective communication by health care workers to promote HPV vaccination: Lessons learned from Kenya, India, and Nigeria
In this case study analysis, Njogu and colleagues examine how health care workers in Kenya, India, and Nigeria have communicated to promote HPV vaccine uptake at different stages of national rollout. In Kenya, a multisectoral approach and myth-busting training proved critical; in Sikkim (India), intensive social mobilization and cascade training underpinned a successful subnational introduction; […]
Accelerating and broadening multisectoral partnerships for introducing and rebuilding HPV vaccination programmes
In this commentary, Sidibe and colleagues propose a conceptual framework to guide countries in identifying and engaging stakeholders for HPV vaccine implementation. The framework organises actors into three tiers—key players, close supporters, and influencers—enabling systematic mapping across Ministries of Health and Education, civil society, professional associations, media, and the private sector. Drawing on experiences from […]