Media Advisory: Leaders in Health, Development and Civil Society to Plan Rapid, Global Introduction of New Cervical Cancer Vaccines

WHAT:

Experts will outline key challenges to ensuring that revolutionary, new HPV vaccines are rapidly made available to women in the developing world. Cervical cancer kills a quarter of a million women a year; more than 80 per cent of these deaths occurring in the developing world, where access to treatment and screening is extremely limited.

Rapid delivery of HPV vaccines in the developing world could save millions of lives. But the world’s track record of introducing new vaccines in developing countries is poor: it can take up to 20 years.

This historic meeting, initiated by six global NGOs (the Rockefeller Foundation, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the International Union Against Cancer, PATH, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative and the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition) will assess the significant roll-out challenges. The introduction of an HPV vaccine is an important test case. It is one of the first vaccines for cancer, the first primarily for women and adolescents and the first vaccine for a reproductive health issue. The world has a chance to help close the gender and poverty gap simultaneously and prepare for the introduction of other interventions, including HIV vaccines now in the pipeline.

Participants will address key issues such as: How can HPV vaccines be delivered quickly to women in resource-poor settings? What are the key barriers to ensuring global access to these vaccines? What is needed from governments, multilateral agencies such as WHO and GAVI, vaccine manufacturers and civil society? How much demand is needed to provide manufacturing incentives? What kind of donor support and funding can be secured for purchases?

WHEN:

Tuesday, 12:30p.m. GMT (7:30 a.m. EST) 12 December 2006

WHERE:

Censors’ Room, Royal College of Physicians, 11 St. Andrews Place, Regent’s Park, London

WHO:

Dr. Arletty Pinel, Chief, Reproductive Health Branch, (UNFPA)

Dr. Nothemba Simelela, Director, International Planned Parenthood Federation

Dr. Howard Zucker, Assistant Director-General, The World Health Organization (WHO)

Dr. Julian Lob-Levyt, Executive Secretary, The GAVI Alliance

Dr. Jacqueline Sherris, Strategic Programme Leader, Reproductive Health, PATH

TO RSVP, PLEASE E-MAIL acohen@ghstrat.com 

Contact Information:

Patricia Leidl: tel. +1-917-535-9508, mobile +234 803 288 7793, leidl@unfpa.org

Global Health Strategies : tel. +1-646-258-8410, gwynne@ghstrat.com