Tackling Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Cervical Cancer in Eastern and Southern Africa

BLOG

Preventing cervical cancer in Africa: Why scaling HPV vaccination is a priority
Every two minutes, a woman’s life is claimed by cervical cancer—a largely preventable disease—yet, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine could save up to 560,000 lives every year. Cervical cancer is a worldwide challenge, and Africa pays the heaviest price. Among the 20 countries with the highest cervical cancer burden, 19 are in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022, Africa accounted for 23% (153,000 lives) of global cervical cancer mortality.

Cervical cancer—principally caused by certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV)—is highly preventable. In Africa, poor access to prevention, screening and treatment contributes to 90 percent of the deaths from it. The continent accounts for nearly a quarter of global cervical cancer deaths, with over 72,000 women dying each year, often in the prime of their lives.

A single dose of the HPV vaccine has been shown to offer high protection against the most dangerous HPV infections. Governments are moving from a two-dose approach to a single-dose approach as this enables them to reach more girls. But the vaccine is not yet rolled out in every country, and where available, access can be limited—especially for girls who are out of school, living with HIV, or in hard-to-reach areas.

Expanding equitable, efficient, and sustained vaccine delivery is key to protecting futures and preventing avoidable deaths. This includes reaching the last mile through community health workers, schools, social registries, and tailored outreach strategies. For women who did not receive the vaccine as girls, cervical cancer screening and early management of pre-cancer or cancer remains critical. However, less than 6 percent of eligible women in Africa have ever been screened and ost cases are detected too late for effective treatment.

Three pillars—vaccination, screening and treatment—form the backbone of the WHO Global Elimination Strategy which aims to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem by 2030.

Challenges

From Fragmentation to Integration: Adolescent health services are often siloed. Integration opens the door to coordinated delivery models, linking HPV vaccination with menstrual health, deworming, SRH counseling, and school-based programs.
From Hard-to-Reach to Smart Targeting: School-based models miss many girls. Countries are looking for new ways to identify and provide vaccines to girls at the right age (9-14 years), including out-of-school girls and those living in remote or fragile areas.
From Hesitancy to Community Ownership: Vaccine uptake is shaped by social norms. Trusted voices—mothers, teachers, religious leaders—can help overcome misconceptions about the HPV vaccine.
Simplifying for Scale: The move to single-dose HPV schedules is a breakthrough—reducing costs, visits, and dropouts. Countries can now redesign delivery systems around efficiency and equity.
From Gaps to Growth in Screening: Screening coverage is low, but task-shifting and new technologies (such as HPV DNA testing and thermal ablation) create momentum to expand access.
Sustainable Financing and Local Commitment: While external support is critical, this is a moment to build domestic investment and cross-sector alignment—positioning HPV as a key gender and human capital priority.

What the World Bank is doing in Eastern and Southern Africa

The World Bank supports countries in the region in eliminating cervical cancer by leveraging its lending, analytics, policy dialogue, and regional platforms to strengthen health systems and expand HPV vaccine access. It is supporting Ethiopia, Mozambique and Eswatini, among other countries, by embedding HPV vaccine delivery and screening within broader health sector investments.

With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank is working across multiple countries to:

Support integrated service delivery by working with Ministries of Health, Education, and Gender to link HPV vaccination with adolescent health services—creating multisectoral, cost-effective platforms that can be scaled through public systems.
Generate operational knowledge on what works, including tools to estimate the cost of inaction, assess delivery bottlenecks, and identify country-led innovations to improve coverage and equity.
Convene multisectoral dialogue and policy engagement, bringing together stakeholders from national governments, development partners, and civil society to align priorities and accelerate delivery.
Facilitate regional learning and collaboration by connecting implementers and policymakers across countries to share lessons, tools, and peer support.
Inform global and regional agendas by producing and disseminating evidence from Eastern and Southern Africa.