Theme: Translating research into Public Health action.
Abstract : “ Translating HPV vaccination evidence into public health action in Kenya: the role of
community-led advocacy by NCHI.”
Authors :Gacheri Mwenda
                 :Nana Kilemi
 
 Affiliations (NCHI)
 
Background:
Cervical cancer remains a major public health challenge in Kenya. Recent estimates
indicate approximately 5,845 new cervical cancer cases and over 3,000 deaths annually, projections suggesting a doubling of incidence and mortality over the next decade if current trends persist. Kenya introduced its national HPV vaccination programme in October 2019, targeting 10-year-old girls through a two-dose schedule delivered primarily via schools and health facilities, with an annual target of over 800,000 girls. Despite strong evidence supporting HPV vaccination effectiveness, programme uptake has remained low and uneven, highlighting persistent gaps in advocacy, community engagement, and trust-building.
 
Objective: This paper examines how community-led advocacy strategies implemented by the Needy
Cancer Health Initiative (NCHI) contribute to translating HPV vaccination research into effective public
health action in Kenya, aligned with the WHO 90–70–90 cervical cancer elimination targets.` Between
2019 and 2025, approximately 2.9 million HPV vaccine doses were administered, representing about
40% of the target cohort, compared with an estimated 7.2 million eligible adolescents. Drawing lessons from countries such as Scotland and Australia, where long-standing HPV vaccination programmes have led to near-elimination of HPV infections in vaccinated cohorts, we demonstrate the critical role of advocacy in achieving high coverage and long-term population impact.
 
Methods:
Using implementation-informed case studies and policy analysis, we document advocacy
approaches deployed by NCHI between 2024 and 2025, including:
 
i. Community education addressing myths and misinformation via culturally sensitive messaging,
annual runs, charity drives, including engagement of religious leaders and generational influencers.
ii. School-based delivery models, coupled with structured parental engagement through Ministry
of Health–Education partnerships.We ran a public school modelling campaign in a Nairobi slum where out of 2600 girls who were eligible for the HPV vaccination, 2346 were able to get the single dosage within a 2 week campaign reflecting  90% conversion.
iii. Partnerships and financing, leveraging support from global health agencies such as the WHO.
iv. Health-system strengthening, including healthcare worker training, and referral linkages
between primary units and hospitals.
 
 
Results:
Advocacy-led interventions demonstrated strong potential to translate evidence into equitable
public health action by improving vaccine confidence, reach, and completion of dosing schedules across diverse Kenyan settings. International evidence shows that partially vaccinated cohorts experience infection rates approximately 2.5 times lower than unvaccinated groups, reinforcing the population-level value of vaccination.
 
Conclusion:
HPV vaccination advocacy and targeted community engagement is a critical mechanism for translating cancer research into sustained public health impact. Aligning scientific evidence with
culturally and contextual grounded advocacy, community trust-building, and health-system capacity can substantially reduce cervical cancer burden in Kenya. This work supports a scalable model for low- and middle-income countries and aligns with the mandate of the International Agency for Research on Cancer to move cancer research into action. Our programme aims to achieve 90% cohort coverage
within five years, contributing to long-term cervical cancer elimination goals.