Lawmakers and campaigners in Manila want the Philippines to vaccinate boys against HPV as well as girls. Coverage among girls remains below 30%, but WHO’s one-dose schedule and new screening options give women more ways to protect themselves now.
“You can only achieve the elimination of HPV if you also vaccinate boys.” Neil Datta put that case to Philippine lawmakers at the House of Representatives in late September, The Manila Times reported.
Datta is executive director of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights. The forum co-organised the launch of the HPV Prevention Policy Atlas Asia-Pacific 2026 in Manila. Speakers there want boys added to a national programme that reaches fewer than 30% of eligible girls.
A girls’ programme with gaps
The Department of Health offers the four-valent vaccine against human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer, to girls aged 9 to 14 in public schools. Budget and other limits mean it reaches under 30% of that group, The Manila Times reported. Philippine Statistics Authority data cited at the launch put the number of girls aged 9 to 14 at about 6.7 million.
Cervical cancer was the third most common cancer among Filipino women in 2024. There were 7,829 new cases and 3,389 deaths, the International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates.
The atlas still gave the country’s HPV prevention policies a score of 71.6%, rated “Good”, the Daily Tribune reported. Screening is the weaker link. Participation in cervical cancer screening is below 15%, the same report said.
The case for vaccinating boys
HPV caused an estimated 70,000 cancers in men in 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet says, including cancers of the penis, anus, mouth and throat. The forum argues a gender-neutral programme would protect boys directly and cut transmission to women.
WHO names girls aged 9 to 14 as the main group to vaccinate. Its December 2022 schedule update also recommends vaccinating “secondary targets such as boys and older females” where feasible and affordable. At least 47 countries were vaccinating boys by 2022, Gavi reported, the latest count found. In the UK, the NHS offers the vaccine to all children aged 12 to 13.
Cielo Krisel Lagman, who represents Albay’s 1st District, chairs a second co-organiser, the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on Population and Development Foundation. She proposed paying for HPV vaccination and screening from gender and development (GAD) budgets, with women in remote areas in mind. “The policy is only as good as the implementation,” she said.
Protection women can seek today
WHO’s 2022 update recommends a one or two-dose schedule for girls aged 9 to 14 and for young women aged 15 to 20. Women older than 21 need two doses six months apart.
WHO’s cervical cancer fact sheet, updated in July 2026, covers women past vaccination age. It says women should be screened with a high-performance test every five to 10 years from age 30. Women living with HIV should start at 25 and be screened every three to five years. WHO also says samples women collect themselves for HPV testing are as reliable as those taken by a health worker.
Women in the Philippines can ask their local health centre whether HPV testing or self-sampling is available. Parents of girls aged 9 to 14 can ask their school whether the vaccine is offered there.
Bhutan shows what both sexes can achieve
Bhutan has gone further than most low- and middle-income countries by vaccinating girls and boys. Its girls’ campaign began in 2010 and reported initial coverage of about 95%, Gavi reported. The country also offers HPV DNA testing to all women aged 30 to 69. “Vaccinating both sexes can help prevent the transmission of the HPV, which is the primary cause of cervical cancer,” said Dr Dechen Wangmo, Bhutan’s health minister.
This article is for information only and does not replace advice from a qualified health professional.
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