A Review of the Implementation Status of and National Plans on HPV Vaccination in 17 Middle-Income Countries of the WHO Western Pacific Region.

Rei Haruyama,Hiroki Akaba,Sumiyo Okawa,Noriko Fujita,Hiromi Obara

doi:10.3390/vaccines9111355

Rei Haruyama, Hiroki Akaba + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9111355

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Abstract

The World Health Organization’s Western Pacific Region is responsible for one-fourth of the global cervical cancer burden, and nearly 90% of that burden is concentrated in middle-income countries (MICs). Applying a conceptual model of implementation of population-based interventions, we synthesized the current implementation status of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and national plans that form the basis of its implementation in 17 MICs. We gathered information from a range of governmental documents, published studies, and global databases. For all available national cancer-related plans and immunization plans, we examined the description of HPV vaccination. We found that, as of July 2021, only four countries (24%) had a mature HPV vaccination program with a high first-dose coverage; three (18%) had introduced HPV vaccination, but needed further efforts to scale it up, seven (41%) had not been able to introduce it after conducting demonstration projects, and three (18%) did not have any experience in HPV vaccination. In the national plans, most of the countries recognized the importance of HPV vaccination, but only 10 (59%) provided an implementation strategy on how it would be introduced or scaled up. Countries with a mature program were more likely to have their implementation strategy detailed in their national cancer control plan. Successful implementation of HPV vaccination requires overcoming known challenges and having a clear national plan. Positioning HPV vaccination clearly in the overall national cancer control plan may be key to accelerating its nationwide implementation.

Highlights

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Western Pacific Region (WPR) comprises 27 countries and 10 areas, home to 953 million women [1,2]
In 2020, the WHO Member States adopted the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem, which proposes countries to introduce and scale up human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, screening, and treatment, and meet the “90-70-90” targets by 2030 (i.e., 90% of girls are fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by age 15; 70% of women are screened with a high-performance test by age 35 and again by 45; and 90% of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment) to achieve elimination within this century [7]
When we looked at which type of national plan contained an implementation strategy for HPV vaccination in those 10 countries, it differed greatly by country

Summary

Introduction

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s Western Pacific Region (WPR) comprises 27 countries and 10 areas, home to 953 million women [1,2]. In the WPR, an estimated 146,000 women are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer and 75,000 women die from it every year, accounting for nearly one-fourth of the cases worldwide [4]. In 2020, the WHO Member States adopted the Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer as a Public Health Problem, which proposes countries to introduce and scale up HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment, and meet the “90-70-90” targets by 2030 (i.e., 90% of girls are fully vaccinated with HPV vaccine by age 15; 70% of women are screened with a high-performance test by age 35 and again by 45; and 90% of women identified with cervical disease receive treatment) to achieve elimination within this century [7].

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