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When she was 12, Aisha sat under a tree at her school and became one of the first girls in Uganda to get a truly revolutionary vaccine—one that protects her from human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer.
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HPV vaccines are nearly 100 percent effective against the most dangerous cancer-causing types of HPV strains—but the vaccines need to reach preteen girls before they are exposed to the virus.
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All the girls at her school learned about the vaccine before getting it. But Aisha, who had lived through her mother’s long, painful death from cervical cancer, may have been the only one who truly understood how high the stakes were. Her tears on vaccine day had nothing to do with the needle stick.
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Aisha was one of 10,000 Ugandan girls who received the vaccine at schools and clinics during a pilot program PATH led to help countries make informed decisions about the HPV vaccine. Our data provided critical evidence for the Uganda Ministry of Health about the best way to get the vaccine to girls like Aisha. The HPV vaccine is now part of Uganda’s regular childhood vaccination schedule and is provided for free to girls nationwide.
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And Uganda is not alone. Dozens of countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia include HPV on their vaccination schedules to protect girls from getting cervical cancer when they are older.
Five years after being an HPV vaccine pioneer, Aisha (pictured below with her dad) met up with PATH again. The tall, strong, shy 17-year-old hopes to become a doctor one day.
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Aisha is a global health success story, one of many. In the past few decades, tools and technologies to prevent and treat cervical cancer have evolved at a breathtaking pace. We’re making great progress, but we’re far from finished. By scaling up prevention, screening, and treatment globally, we could end cervical cancer in our daughters’ lifetimes.
Supporters like you make it possible. Please give to PATH today.
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Photos from top to bottom: PATH/Will Boase, BBC, PATH/Robin Biellik, PATH/Robin Biellik, PATH/Robin Biellik, PATH/Will Boase
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PATH
Mail: PO Box 900922 | Seattle, WA 98109 USA
Street: 2201 Westlake Avenue, Suite 200 | Seattle, WA 98121 USA
Tel: 206.285.3500 | Fax: 206.285.6619
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