U.S. To Fund HPV Vaccination Campaign In Micronesia Region

Main Category: Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine
Article Date: 09 Jan 2009 - 3:00 PDT

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The U.S. next month will launch a human papillomavirus vaccination campaign aimed at preventing cervical cancer in the Pacific island nations of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, Jean-Paul Chaine, regional epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports. The program, which will cost $9 million, will fund HPV vaccinations for more than 30,000 girls ages 10 to 18. Although officials intended to launch the program in early 2008, implementation was delayed by funding obstacles, Chaine said. Some of the island states could launch the vaccine campaign as early as next month, he added.

Cervical cancer was the second most prevalent cancer in the Marshall Islands in 2007 and is estimated to affect women at a rate six times greater than in the U.S., Chaine said. The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. According to Agence France-Presse, the three countries targeted for the program have "compacts of free association" with the U.S., which allows them to qualify for many U.S.-funded health and education programs (Agence France-Presse, 1/7).

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