Background
Despite strong evidence supporting HPV vaccination for cervical cancer prevention, translating research into policy action remains a challenge in many low- and middle-income countries. Policy briefs represent a critical mechanism for bridging research and decision-making by synthesizing evidence into recommendations for policymakers. Prior to 2025, South Africa offered free HPV vaccination to girls aged 9–10 years in grade 5 through a public school-based programme, excluding private school girls from protection against HPV.
Aim
The policy brief aimed to increase HPV vaccine uptake by including non-public school girls in the HPV vaccination programme. This abstract demonstrates how a research-informed policy brief influenced national cervical cancer policy in South Africa.
Methods
In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies' Data for Health launched the Data to Policy initiative in South Africa. A team of epidemiologists, data scientists, and cancer registrars, supported by HPV program coordinators from the Ministry of Health, was formed to draft a policy brief on HPV vaccination in South Africa to address the identified gap. The policy development process involved identifying root causes, evaluating policy options to bridge the gap, assessing the economic viability and feasibility of the proposed options, and ensuring effective stakeholder engagement and management. The policy brief was crafted using national and international evidence on HPV vaccination coverage, program implementation gaps, and the cervical cancer burden in South Africa. It translated epidemiological and program data into concise, policy-relevant recommendations to increase HPV vaccine uptake. The policy brief was shared with key stakeholders for input, including the National Department of Health, as part of ongoing collaboration between researchers and policymakers.
Results
The policy brief recommended two policy options to increase HPV vaccine uptake as follows: Inclusive school-based vaccination, which recommends that the vaccination programme extend to cover girls at private schools, and enhanced facility-based vaccination, which recommends that vaccines be kept at the health facilities and be available at any given time to girls who need them. The economic evaluation of the policy indicated that the most cost-effective option was the inclusive school-based vaccination programme, which would avert 38% of cervical cancer cases with an additional 51 million Rands per annum relative to the status quo. The policy brief was accepted by the National Department of Health and directly informed a comprehensive review of South Africa’s cervical cancer policy framework. This process contributed to the development of a revised national strategy aligned with the goal of eliminating cervical cancer. The policy brief functioned as a catalyst for translating research evidence into coordinated national policy action.
Conclusion
This case study illustrates the effectiveness of policy briefs as knowledge translation tools that can translate research evidence into concrete public health policy. By presenting data in a targeted, accessible, and action-oriented format, policy briefs facilitate engagement between researchers and decision-makers and accelerate policy responsiveness. Strengthening the capacity to produce high-quality, evidence-based policy briefs is essential to ensure that cancer research meaningfully informs national strategies and advances cervical cancer elimination efforts.