Were it not for the negative myths and misconceptions around the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, the expected transition to the single dose vaccination against the disease, likely to happen this month, could propel Kenya into the list of countries in Africa with high coverage.
The Coalition to Strengthen the HPV Immunization Community (CHIC) initiative membership meeting in Nairobi under; Advancing Sustainable HPV Vaccination Programs in Africa title, learnt on Wednesday that Kenya is losing at least 10 women every day due to cervical cancer, yet it’s preventable.
“This is unacceptable,” one delegate whispered, even as the country seems to have recorded progress in HIV vaccination recently according to Ministry of Health data.
Director General of Health, Dr. Patrick Amoth told delegates during the official opening of the three-day symposium that the progress Kenya has made in HPV vaccination, is more than double in the first-dose coverage among 10- to 14-year-old girls.
This, he said is from just 24 percent in 2022 to over 60 percent by end of 2024.
“Importantly, second-dose coverage has also risen sharply, nearly doubling from 17 percent in 2022 to 30 percent in 2024, underscoring the country’s strong momentum as it prepares for the HPV two-dose schedule switch,” he said in Nairobi, signaling the country’s readiness switch to the single dose vaccination regimen.
“That is why I am proud to announce that this October 2025, Kenya is transitioning from the two-dose to a single-dose HPV vaccine schedule,” Dr. Amoth added.
This follows the recommendation of the National Immunization Technical Advisory Group (KENITAG), which confirmed that one dose provides the same robust protection as multiple doses.
This change will make vaccination more accessible, cost-effective, and sustainable and it positions Kenya as a leader in evidence-based innovation, he noted.
Alongside this transition, Dr. Amoth revealed that the Government is also strengthening health facility vaccination strategies to ensure no eligible girl is missed, by integrating adolescent-friendly services, empowering health workers with tailored communication, leveraging data to close coverage gaps, and reinforcing community linkages.
“We are also expanding school-based vaccination platforms to reach girls in primary grade five, while working closely with the Ministry of Education and education stakeholders to improve coverage,” he pointed out.
The government also intends to expand community outreach through health workers and civil society partners, ensuring out-of-school girls and girls in hard-to-reach areas are not left behind.
“The government is also scaling up demand generation, advocacy, and public awareness campaigns to counter misinformation and build vaccine confidence, especially through local leaders, faith-based organizations, and youth networks,” said, pointing out that this is being done while correspondingly, investing in innovative, evidence-based approaches including Human-Centered Design to ensure a 90 percent coverage of the girls with the HPV vaccine.
It’s documented that Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Botswana, Cape Verde and Mauritius have coverage rates exceeding 70 percent and aligning with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) cervical cancer elimination strategy.
And Rwanda has been particularly successful by integrating the vaccination program into its school system and implementing extensive public education campaigns.
However, according to Dr. Rose Jalang’o, Head of the National Vaccines and Immunization Program (NVIP), the nest steps will define the country’s commitment to towards improving the HPV vaccination coverage.
During a presentation she outlined a number of progressive strategies that Kenya is deploying to align to the WHO cervical cancer elimination policy. Some of those strategies include mounting campaigns on the social media to counter the negative myths and misconceptions against HPV vaccination, and also working closely with the Ministries of Education and Interior, to ensure no girl is left behind.
“In the course of this month the country will transition to a single dose, and we have been having preparations on how to do it alongside all our thematic working groups,” she said.
Already, Dr. Jalang’o revealed that those thematic working groups have received an advisory from KENITAG, and support commitment institutions such as the Global Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) to do the switch, which aims to ensure that there’s an effective vaccine delivery, reduced missed opportunities, improved resource utilisation and also maintain the effective protection against HPV.
“In terms of sustainability for delivery of this program in the context of the reduced funding, the government is working closely with various agencies, the national cancer program, the adolescent health program, and the HIV program,” she said, explaining that this means that integrating these services is going to achieve the desired goals in the program.
The CHIC initiative aims to contribute to the dialogue on science, policy, and program implementation supporting cervical cancer elimination efforts.
A note from the organisers shows that the CHIC initiative will be addressed in two ways through meetings and a symposia series in GAVI-eligible countries, meant to stimulate communication between stakeholders advancing science, developing evidence-based policies, and managing programs in and across countries. It also aims at managing an online community platform to share experiences and inform the research agenda to accelerate progress in HPV vaccine introduction, access, program optimization and sustainability.
The project is a collaboration between Jhpiego, the University of Antwerp and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Globally, over 85 percent of cervical cancer deaths caused by HPV occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) [1].
But through various presentations as countries shared their experiences on what they are, scientists maintained these deaths can be prevented through vaccination, cervical screening, and treatment of precursor and neoplastic lesions.
HPV vaccination faces unique challenges including its target population of adolescents, multidose schedules, public health program platform, social and cultural sensitivities, myths and misconceptions, supply constraints, and cost.
It has been revealed that in the past three years, increased demand and the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated supply constraints, but notable achievements such as the development of new vaccines, increased manufacturer supply, and the WHO recommendation of a single-dose HPV vaccine regimen offer hope for cervical cancer prevention.
The CHIC project, a collaboration between the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Jhpiego, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and the University of Antwerp aims to shape the dialogue on science, policy, and programme implementation supporting cervical cancer elimination efforts.
Various findings made public on Wednesday show that integrating HPV vaccine into other health programmes and services can increase coverage and access. The Tanzanian Ministry of Health developed HPV Plus, an approach that integrates HPV vaccination with nutrition, eyesight assessment, deworming, and age-appropriate health education to 10–14-year-old boys and girls in schools, health facilities, and community outreach activities.
It is notable that this approach has particularly helped with uptake of the second dose of the HPV vaccine.
“Their use of a school-based platform has also increased uptake of adolescent sexual and reproductive health services. Other countries are also working toward integration,” it was revealed.
For example, Cameroon, with support from the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), has identified interventions that would be most suitable for integration of HPV vaccination with school health and deworming programmes. Integration was especially important to promote resilience and restoration of HPV vaccination programmes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
And in Gambia, Ethiopia, and Kenya reports indicate a successful integration of the HPV vaccine into their COVID-19 vaccine campaigns. Despite its importance, integrating HPV vaccine with other health services can be challenging due to limited system and workforce capacity, as highlighted by stakeholders from Cote D’Ivoire.
In December 2022, the WHO endorsed the conclusion of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization that a permissive single-dose HPV vaccination schedule can be used in girls and boys aged 9–20 years old. This decision was based on the current evidence, which indicates that a single dose provides similar efficacy and duration of protection when compared to a two-dose-schedule.
