Africa Science News (12.06.12) The GAVI Alliance will work with
multiple developing countries to ensure that they have the
infrastructure and capacity to fully vaccinate young women for
the human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cervical
cancers. About 275,000 women die from cervical cancer annually,
and more than 85 percent of these deaths occur in developing
nations. The demand for HPV vaccination has exceeded the supply
in these locations, where routine preventive care—immunizations,
screening, and treatment—is not available to many women. GAVI
will work with nations to identify the target groups who will
receive HPV vaccination and to ensure that the infrastructure
for fully administering the vaccinations is in place. Use of
schools as a vaccination setting has been successful in pilot
projects. Pilots will begin—primarily in sub-Saharan African
countries—in 2013. GAVI’s goal is to immunize 1 million girls by
2012 and more than 30 million girls by 2020. GAVI has negotiated
with manufacturers to sup