About

HPV-related diseases affect millions worldwide, irrespective of gender. HPV can cause a range of cancers - cervical, anal, penile, vaginal, vulval, head and neck - as well as genital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP). Yet gender-neutral HPV vaccination, despite its numerous benefits, is still only the gold standard of protection in a minority of HPV vaccination programmes. In most countries with an HPV vaccination programme, only girls are vaccinated. 

 

Global Action on Men’s Health and NOMAN is an Island: Race to End HPV Campaign and Global Action on Men’s Health, are two organisations dedicated to promoting health and well-being on a global scale. Together, they are embarking on a mission to ensure global universal access to gender-neutral HPV vaccination, a vital step towards a healthier future for all.

 

By focusing only on the vaccination of girls to prevent cervical cancer, girls-only programmes fail to protect males sufficiently from the cancers caused by HPV. They also fail to protect unvaccinated women from infection by men, a particular problem in countries with low vaccination rates in girls. Girls-only programmes also mean that they unfairly shoulder the responsibility for prevention. With vaccine supply increasing, single-dose programmes changing cost-effectiveness calculations and new evidence showing that 21% of males have a high-risk (cancer-causing) HPV infection, it is time to make gender-neutral HPV vaccination a global policy and priority.

 

Through this call for global gender-neutral HPV vaccination, we are not only safeguarding the health of current generations, male and female, but also paving the way for a future where HPV-related cancers and diseases are relics of the past.