Evidence in recent years shows that the efficacy of one injection is comparable to that of two-dose or three-dose regimens, a finding that would facilitate the inoculation of girls and adolescents, World Health Organization (WHO) experts said.

The president of the Group of Experts, Alejando Cravioto, explained that the human papillomavirus vaccine is highly effective in preventing the serotypes responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer.

Sexually transmitted HPV causes more than 95 percent of this type of uterine cancer, the fourth most common cancer among women in the world. In addition 90 percent of the women who suffer from it live in low-income and middle-income countries.

Although it is a preventable disease in almost all cases, many women suffer from it and succumb to it due to unequal access to health services, including vaccines, the WHO experts said.

For her part, WHO Assistant Director-General Nothemba Simelela expressed confidence in the 2020 cervical cancer elimination initiative to address several challenges, including unequal access to vaccines.

jg/arm/jcm/cdg