BANJUL, The Gambia, July 14, 2026/APO Group/ —
In The Gambia, bold and coordinated efforts are improving access to lifesaving vaccines for adolescent girls across the country. To catch up on vaccination of girls missed during a 2025 campaign, The Gambia implemented a week-long human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign targeting girls aged 9–14 years in three regions in April 2026.
The campaign moved beyond traditional facility-based delivery, bringing vaccines closer to where girls learn and live: schools, madrassas and community settings. Vaccination teams were deployed across multiple outreach points to ensure that eligible girls were not left behind.
Led by the Ministry of Health (MoH) through the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), the campaign was implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, WHO, UNICEF and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. The joint effort strengthened planning, coordination and service delivery, ensuring that the campaign reached both in-school and out-of-school adolescents across the targeted regions.
Following the 2025 nationwide HPV vaccination campaign, over 11 000 eligible girls remained unvaccinated across the country. To help close this gap, the catch-up campaign targeted almost 9000 girls in three regions. By the end of the campaign, around 8500 girls had been vaccinated, representing 95% coverage.
“With continued support from WHO and partners, The Gambia is strengthening an immunization system that is not only more effective but increasingly trusted by the communities it serves,” says Dr Nathan Bakyaita, WHO Representative in The Gambia. “And within that trust lies the most powerful outcome of all: a generation of girls growing up protected, empowered and free from the threat of cervical cancer.”
Strong collaboration between the health and education sectors ensured the success of the campaign. The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education played a critical role in coordination across regions, working through cluster managers who support schools with planning, communication and implementation guidance.
This coordination strengthened the link between schools, communities, and health teams ensuring better planning, smoother delivery and improved acceptance among parents and caregivers. Regional monitoring systems have further supported timely follow up and ensured that eligible girls are not missed during implementation.
By normalizing vaccination through engagement with teachers, religious and community leaders, The Gambia is evolving toward a more equity-driven immunization strategy.
Fakebba Kolley, a head teacher at Wulingkama Lower Basic School in Brufut, a town in The Gambia’s Western Division, used the school’s WhatsApp platform to engage parents and build trust. This led 98% of parents to provide consent for their daughters to receive the vaccine.
For Kolley, the mission is personal. “I lost my sister to this disease. If this vaccine had been available then, maybe her story would have been different,” he says. “Today, we can protect our girls early and we must not miss it.”
Other educators at the school, like Abdoul Wahab, echo this sentiment. “This vaccine is important in the life of a girl,” he says. “I encourage all parents to allow their children to be vaccinated—it also supports their reproductive health.”
