GFLA team members are working to help advance gender equality both globally through our support to FLs offices and locally in the U.S. through support to local gov agencies. (fb)

Every two minutes, a woman dies from cervical cancer, although the knowledge and the tools to prevent and even eliminate this disease already exist. Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) – the leading cause of cervical cancer – can prevent the vast majority of cases and, combined with screening and treatment, provides a path to elimination. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and continues to disproportionately impact women and their families in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In an important shift, the World Health Organization (WHO)’s 2022 global recommendation for one-dose HPV vaccine schedules significantly reduced barriers to scaling up vaccination programs. It was reinforced by a similar recommendation in the Americas Region in 2023. The WHO’s Regional Office for Africa has just followed suit with its own recommendation for countries in the region to adopt the single-dose vaccination schedule. To date, 37 countries have reported switching or intent to switch to a one-dose regimen. (fb)