Report of the meeting on HPV Vaccine Coverage and Impact Monitoring

A meeting on HPV Vaccine Coverage and Impact Monitoring was held at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland on 16-17 November 2009 to discuss methods for HPV vaccine coverage monitoring and to further delineate objectives and strategies for HPV vaccine impact monitoring.

Participants included experts in epidemiology, surveillance, programme, and laboratory in the areas of immunization, cancer, sexually transmitted infections, and adolescent health from WHO, five WHO regions, IARC, CDC, PATH, and national and academic institutions. This meeting took place following prior meetings to address this topic in January 2009 and May 2009. With regards to HPV vaccine coverage, it was agreed that monitoring HPV vaccine coverage by dose and by age was important for meeting the goals of programme monitoring and of vaccine impact monitoring. In addition, a summary indicator of proportion of girls vaccinated with 3 doses by age 15 years will be useful to compare HPV vaccine coverage trends over time and across geographic areas.