About the International HPV Awareness Campaign

Around the world, HPV causes nearly half a million deaths each year, most of which are preventable. Alarmingly, public awareness of HPV and the diseases it causes is very low and consequently, many people are unaware of how to protect their health.

To address this significant problem, in 2018, IPVS created the International HPV Awareness Campaign. Our objectives are to inform and educate the public about HPV, to normalize the conversation about the virus to reduce stigma, and to inspire individuals to get vaccinated and screened if possible. By empowering individuals and society with the knowledge needed to take effective action, we can reduce the harm caused by HPV, saving many lives each year.

International HPV Awareness Day each year on March 4th has grown to become part of the global health calendar for many organizations around the world that are committed to addressing HPV-related cancer. Our public-facing website AskAboutHPV.org, offers sharable facts on HPV and inspiring stories in many commonly spoken languages. Our network of 155+ official campaign partner organizations in 60 countries implement the campaign locally by tailoring and using the evidence-based, translated and peer-reviewed campaign resources to build awareness of HPV within their communities.

The campaign embraces the theme “One Less Worry” to communicate that in an uncertain and turbulent world with many concerns that are outside of our personal control, HPV is something we can tackle: it is a virus we can prevent – we have the tools to do so. This means One Less Worry on the personal level. Working together, we can beat HPV and reduce the global cancer burden by around 5%.

Official campaign partners and IPVS members have access to the HPV Hub, an online platform to support communication, knowledge sharing and collaboration between campaign partners and IPVS members and with an interest in public awareness and advocacy campaigning.

To find out more about the IPVS Awareness Campaign Committee and its members, click here.

To learn about our impact, read the latest Campaign Report.

>> READ 2026 CAMPAIGN REPORT <<

For more information about the IHAD Campaign, or to become directly involved, visit AskAboutHPV.org or send an email to HPVday@kenes.com

 

HPV affects all of us. Watch personal HPV story highlights from around the world.