South Africa’s HPV vaccination drive to protect girls from cervical cancer is working – what we know after 10 years

By Dorothy Nyemba-Machemedze, Data Analyst - Epidemiologist/Biostatistician at Wits RHI, University of the Witwatersrand
Sinead Delany-Moretlwe, Associate Professor and Director: Research at the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute I, University of the Witwatersrand

South Africa introduced a vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV) in public schools in 2014. The programme offered the vaccination to grade 4 girls aged nine years and older. Uptake was high from the start. About 87% of eligible girls received at least one dose during the first year.

Almost all cervical cancers are caused by persistent infection with HPV, a very common virus transmitted through sexual contact. Most HPV infections clear naturally, but some high-risk types can persist and can eventually lead to…

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