The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) released a 2023 report on the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in promoting HPV vaccination to eliminate cervical cancer.
In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), social mobilisation is vital for advancing HPV vaccination. CSOs are widely trusted and have first-hand community experience. Close collaboration between governments and CSOs can complement policy implementation, especially in communities that are hard for the public sector to reach. 66% of cancer civil society organisations in UICC’s community engage in HPV vaccination, alongside and in the context of other activities to address cervical cancer across the life course and continuum of care. 97% engage in advocacy for HPV vaccination, 92% in awareness raising, and 69% in community mobilisation. Only 21% of CSOs engage directly in HPV vaccine delivery.
The report also highlighted that CSOs face both external and internal barriers to sustained engagement in HPV vaccination. Main external obstacles include access to the vaccine, stigma, insufficient data, and fragmentation of stakeholders. Main internal barriers are insufficient human and financial resources, siloed approaches by stakeholders, and a need to reinforce organisational skills and awareness of opportunities.
Based on the extensive engagement of CSOs in driving change in their settings for HPV vaccination and cervical cancer elimination, the value of exchanging experiences was perceived as one of the key opportunities to support and reinforce the sustainable engagement of CSOs in HPV vaccination. Key highlighted opportunities for amplification of CSOs’ impact in HPV vaccination include peer-to-peer learning, grant-making as well as access to learning and technical support for communications, advocacy and implementation.
Content Editor: Xinyue Zhou
Page Editor: Ruitong Li
More can be found in this article:
Engaging the cancer community for cervical cancer elimination | UICC. (n.d.). UICC. https://www.uicc.org/news-and-updates/resources/engaging-cancer-community-cervical-cancer-elimination
