South Africa's HPV vaccination drive to protect girls from cervical cancer is working—what we know after 10 years

Ten years after South Africa launched its school-based HPV vaccination program in 2014, a study published in The Lancet Global Health shows substantial impact. In the HOPE study of 2,357 girls aged 17–18, HPV 16/18 infection fell by 83% in the vaccinated group compared with the pre-vaccine group; among girls living with HIV, infection dropped from 29% to 4%, an 82% decline.