The International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) is excited to proclaim March 4th as “International HPV Awareness Day”. This day will serve to promote awareness of and education around HPV infection, how it spreads, and how HPV infection and the diseases that it causes can be prevented.
The HPV Awareness Day aims to raise awareness about the availability of prevention tools, to promote education about HPV, and encourage governments and individuals across the world to take action against HPV to save hundreds of thousands of women and men that can benefit from the HPV vaccine and/or screening for the early detection of cancer and treatment.
The HPV Awareness Day will establish a basis for communities, schools, clinics, universities and political and patient groups to think about what can be done to improve spreading the news and to take action. HPV related cancers can be prevented and this knowledge needs to be shared with all. Everybody needs to be informed and, if adequate, to enroll in a preventive activity that will reduce the risk to develop a cancer associated with HPV.
The first edition of the HPV Awareness day will take place on March 4th 2018, and annually thereafter.
IPVS established an Advocacy and Campaign Committee in January 2017 with the aim to further promote this activity. The official announcement was made on March 4th 2017, during the closing ceremony of the HPV2017 Conference, in Cape Town South Africa. The delegates enthusiastically welcomed the project. HPV2017 was also the opportunity for the Advocacy and Campaign committee to hold their first meeting, build an action plan and publish the first official communication on the project.
J. Jeronimo, T. Iftner and J. Palefsky, members of the IPVS Advocacy and Campaign Committee, launched the initiative in Cape Town at the closing ceremony of HPV 2017 Conference.
