Inaction in the face of need

Maori suffer higher morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer than non-Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand, and also have lower vaccination rates of publicly funded vaccines than non-Maori. The HPV vaccine provides an exciting opportunity to prevent cervical cancers, but if Maori receive this vaccination less than non-Maori, cervical cancer inequalities for Maori will be further widened. This book aims to consider the HPV vaccine from an inequalities and KMR-consistent perspective, and determine how the vaccine could be implemented in New Zealand to avoid increasing Maori:non-Maori inequalities in immunisation and cervical cancer. It finds that the HPV vaccine should be universally publicly funded for 11 year old girls, in conjunction with additional efforts targeted at Maori, to avoid immunisation and cervical cancer inequalities widening. The HPV vaccine should be delivered through a school-based programme, supported by database tracking of all children on school rolls, and with intensive, culturally-appropriate follow-up of children who do not have consent forms returned.