Project grants in HPV vaccination

Background and context

HPV vaccination has the potential to prevent more than 90% of HPV-attributable cancers, including cervical cancer. This primary prevention intervention represents one of the most effective interventions for addressing cervical cancer, particularly for women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), which still bear 90% of cervical cancer deaths globally. In December 2022, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) recommended a single-dose schedule for HPV vaccination, representing a further opportunity to overcome many challenges in increasing access and coverage for the vaccine in many settings.

Although there has been a renewed momentum to accelerate access to primary prevention through HPV vaccination programmes, in particular building on Gavi’s revitalisation of their HPV programme with the objective to reach 86 million adolescent girls by 2025, and more recently with the first Global Cervical Cancer Elimination Forum, access to HPV vaccination remains limited in LMICs.

In 2023, UICC conducted a landscaping report to generate knowledge about current and potential engagement for civil society organisations (CSOs) to act towards access to HPV vaccination. The report highlighted three areas where support would be particularly required: resources for implementation, communication for public education and knowledge for advocacy.

In response to the needs identified in the context of this report, UICC has developed a grant-making scheme to support high-impact CSO-led projects that sustainably improve access to HPV vaccination services for girls.

Call for applications for project grants

• Based on the needs identified in the context of the landscaping report, UICC is launching this grants opportunity to support high-impact CSO-led projects at the national level enabling organisations to advocate, raise awareness and mobilise communities for HPV vaccination.
• Projects will be funded for a period of 12 months, beginning in November 2024 and will be completed no later than 15 November 2025. 
• Amongst the selection criteria, projects will have to demonstrate local relevance, potential for long-term impact, integration with the national health system structures, and collaboration with relevant partners and institutions. As such, the evaluation process will take into account country and political readiness for HPV vaccine introduction and/or scale-up.
• Applications will be accepted between 1 September and 30 September 2024. Interested applicants are invited to carefully read grant application guidelines. particularly the section titled, ‘eligibility criteria’, 'project scope’ and ‘application questions’ before submitting their projects to ensure the proposed project falls into the scope that can be funded. The grant application guidelines and link to submit the application will be available as of 1 September 2024 on this page.