HPV Vaccines Are on Track to Save Over a Million Lives from Cervical Cancer

A vaccine given to girls in some of the world’s poorest countries is quietly preventing one of the deadliest cancers women face. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, reported that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes in lower-income countries have now protected 86 million girls, and are estimated to prevent 1.4 million cervical cancer deaths over their lifetimes — with more than one million deaths already averted.

Cervical cancer is almost entirely preventable, yet it remains a leading cancer killer of women, particularly in places with limited access to screening and treatment. The HPV vaccine works before exposure, stopping the infections that cause the great majority of cases. Beyond the human toll it eases, Gavi estimated that the programmes have generated around 2.32 billion US dollars in economic benefits across 43 lower-income countries between 2014 and 2024.

“Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, reported that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes in lower-income countries have now protected 86 million girls, and are estimated to prevent 1.”

The progress has come faster than expected. Gavi first began supporting HPV vaccination in 2014, and a renewed push between 2023 and 2025 helped drive coverage sharply upward. By the end of 2025, an estimated 89% of the world’s cervical cancer burden was covered by countries that had introduced the vaccine — a coverage milestone reached ahead of schedule. The alliance is a public-private partnership that brings together the WHO, UNICEF, the World Bank and the Gates Foundation.

“Every two minutes, a woman dies from cervical cancer — a disease that is both devastating and largely preventable,” said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi. That combination of devastating and preventable is exactly what makes the milestone so meaningful: with a single vaccine and the will to deliver it, the world is moving toward a future in which cervical cancer no longer claims hundreds of thousands of women each year.