Human Papillomavirus Vaccination – A Moment of Prevention, a Lifetime of Protection

Summary

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is the primary preventive strategy to reduce the burden of cervical cancer as well as other HPV-related malignancies. Today, at least 144 countries provide the HPV vaccine as part of the national immunization schedule for girls. The original WHO recommendation of three doses of the HPV vaccine has been recently updated to a one to two-dose schedule. This has been proven to be cost-effective and will be able to protect more girls and women with the limited resources in low- and middle-income countries.