Empowering Girls’ Health: HAPPI’s Commitment to Cervical Cancer Elimination on International Day of the Girl Child 2023
The International Day of the Girl Child highlights the importance of empowering and amplifying girls’ voices. It is an annual reminder of the challenges girls face worldwide, and the need to move beyond mere commitments and take bold actions for positive change. The theme for 2023, “Invest in Girls’ Rights: Our Leadership, Our Well-being,” recognizes that girls themselves are often at the forefront of advocating for solutions and change within their communities, and urges us all to invest in actions that will improve girls’ lives.
Vaccinating girls against the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a significant step in safeguarding their health and reducing the global burden of cervical cancer. Worldwide, cervical cancer is the fourth-most frequent cancer in women, with an estimated over 600,000 new cases in 2020 alone. Of the estimated 342,000 deaths from cervical cancer that year, about 90% were among women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where access to screening, prevention, and treatment is limited. HPV is a primary cause of this devastating disease, and the highly effective vaccine serves as a powerful and cost-effective public health intervention in preventing not only HPV infections but also cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases.
The JSI-managed HPV Vaccine Acceleration Program Partners Initiative (HAPPI) Consortium, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, works to ensure that adolescent girls in LMICs have better access to this life-saving vaccine. Our overarching aim is to promote equity, program quality, and acceleration of HPV vaccination among girls. HAPPI combines expertise to expedite HPV vaccine uptake and provide targeted technical assistance, learning, measurement, and evaluation of existing programs. We then translate these insights into strengthened policy and guidelines to ensure access for adolescent girls in LMICs. By complementing global coordination efforts among core HPV vaccine partners, HAPPI contributes significantly to the global goal of achieving 90% coverage among girls by the age of 15 by 2030.
On October 2, the government of Bangladesh launched a ground-breaking nationwide rollout of the HPV vaccination campaign with support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and WHO. This initiative, supported by HAPPI through our partner PATH, will protect the health and future of millions of girls across Bangladesh by safeguarding them from cervical cancer, which claims the lives of thousands of women in the country annually. This campaign, targeting over 10 million girls aged between 10 to 14 years, represents a crucial step toward eliminating the threat of cervical cancer and underscores our collective efforts to create a healthier and more prosperous future for the youth of Bangladesh. HAPPI is also supporting the upcoming HPV vaccine launch in Nigeria in late October to protect the next generation of women against cervical cancer.
By addressing disparities, improving access, and promoting gender equity, JSI is actively working toward a future where every girl can realize her full potential. The International Day of the Girl Child 2023 urges the world to invest in girls’ rights, leadership, and well-being. Through initiatives like HAPPI, we can make significant strides toward a more equitable world where every girl has the chance to thrive.
By Lexi Shetty
