2026 HPV Vaccination Drive Kicks Off for Cancer Prevention

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The Department of Health will start its 2026 Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination drive on Monday, February 2, to protect girls aged 9 and older from future cervical cancer.

South Africa faces a significant burden of cervical cancer, marked by high case numbers and fatalities each year, despite the availability of a life-saving vaccine through both public and private healthcare systems.

Over 5700 cervical cancer cases and 3000 deaths occur yearly in the country, according to the department.

“This means unvaccinated girls and women living with HIV are at a higher risk of serious health complications if they develop cervical cancer later in life compared to the general population.

Introduction of the HP Vaccination Programme

“The introduction of the human papillomavirus vaccination programme in 2014 has benefitted more than 3.6 million girls, mostly in public schools, with over 7.2 million doses administered.

“The programme has now been expanded to reach all girls in both public and private schools, including special independent schools, to ensure no one is left behind.

“This annual campaign will target mostly girls in Grade 5 aged 9 years and older to protect them from cervical cancer, which remains the second most common cancer among women in South Africa, after breast cancer,” the statement read.

The department emphasised that the success of the campaign protecting girls from this deadly, preventable disease requires stronger stakeholder collaboration, especially parents signing school vaccination consent forms for eligible learners.

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Parents and guardians are urged to prioritise children’s health by promptly signing school consent forms for life-saving, free vaccinations.

Trained healthcare teams will visit schools for an HPV vaccination campaign under the Integrated School Health Programme.