Text by: Jennifer Manongdo
Photos by: Sarah Hazel Moces Pulumbarit

In a bid to address the low uptake of the HPV vaccine among the young female population, the National Institutes of Health – Health Promotion Program (NIH-HPP) launched a two-year project titled “UPLIFT Adolescents.” The project aims to identify facilitators and barriers to vaccine uptake, co-develop community interventions and strengthen collaboration with national and local stakeholders for HPV immunization. Despite its proven effectiveness in preventing cervical cancer caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the vaccine is underutilized. This is due to several factors, including limited access, fragmented service delivery, and social determinants of health. 

“This project ‘UPLIFT Adolescents: Enhancing Community HPV Immunization for Filipino Adolescents through Health Policy and Systems Research’ is one opportunity to promote healthy behaviors and preventive services for our adolescents,” said Dr. Marissa Alejandria, incoming executive director of NIH during the launch of the project on July 2, 2024 at the Bayview Park Hotel, Manila. “Through this initiative, I look forward to the community-level factors influencing HPV vaccination uptake among Filipino adolescents that will be identified as you go through your panel discussion. I look forward also to the practical systems-informed solutions that will be developed to promote equitable access to the HPV vaccine,” she added.

Dr. Alejandria emphasized the need to focus on adolescent health, suggesting scoping reviews to assess existing care guidelines or to develop evidence-based guidelines to support advocacy for including adolescent preventive services in health benefit packages. 

WHO Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) Grant

Cervical cancer, caused by the human papillomavirus, ranks second in the most common type of cancers among women in the Philippines, according to 2023 data from the Department of Health (DOH). The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends HPV screening for women beginning at 30 years of age and earlier screening for sexually active women.  The WHO also recommends HPV vaccination among young girls aged 9-14. 

In 2024, the HPP team was one of the only six teams selected from over a hundred proposals submitted by experts globally to receive a two-year grant to launch the UPLIFT Adolescents Project, funded by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (AHPSR) at the World Health Organization (WHO). 

In her speech delivered by Zoom, Dr. Aku Kwamie, technical officer at the AHPSR, highlighted the strong global demand for research that explores systems thinking, social and behavioral factors, and service delivery to improve vaccine uptake. She also commended HPP, led by Dr. Katherine Ann Reyes, for their high-quality, competitive work and expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration. 

The UPLIFT Adolescents Project will entail community profiling and assets mapping, assessment of behavioral and social drivers for HPV vaccination, and intervention co-design and implementation. The last phase of the project will lead to the development of an evaluation framework for the community-based intervention design. This will be useful for the local government involved in the project and the national government for potential scale-up in the future. 

Strengthening Adolescent Health and Development Approaches in the local HPV Immunization Program

Dr. Katherine Ann Reyes, HPP Program Lead and Research Assistant Professor, said the establishment of HPP was the result of a commitment by UP Manila in 2019 to strengthen universal healthcare by collaborating with the Department of Health. A key aspect of this commitment is strengthening research evidence supporting disease prevention and health promotion to reduce the burden on the healthcare system. The UPLIFT Adolescent project is co-led by Krizelle Cleo Fowler, HPP senior program researcher, as the project Co-Principal Investigator.

Also present at the launch to show their support for the project were Dr. Carmina Paz Vera, medical officer IV, DOH, Dr. Ron Allan Quimado, medical officer IV, DOH, Dr. Carrel Kythe Baobao, NIP Coordinator, DOH CHD-IVA, John Christopher Motus, Health Program Researcher, DOH-CHD IVA, Dr. Monica Stephanie Moreno, Adolescent Health Program Manager, DOH-CHD IVA, Ms. Ruth Coleen Gerero, health promotion researcher, DOH-MMCHD, Rejean Louise Ignacio of DOH-MMCHD, Princess Joy Reodova of DOH-MMCHD, Dyanne Margarette Santos of DOH-MMCHD, Dr. Anthony Calibo, technical advisor, Immunization, HPV Vaccination Acceleration Program Partners Initiative (HAPPI), Dr. Junice Demetrio – Melgar, founder and executive director of LIKHAAN, Prof. Nephtaly Joel Botor, program coordinator of UP Los Banos PINTIG Adolescent Development and Psychosocial Support Program, and Sairah Mae Saipudin, university researcher associate 1 of UP Los Banos Gender Center Reproductive Health Office.#

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