Meeting report of the fifth symposium organized by the coalition to strengthen the HPV immunization community (CHIC): Nairobi, Kenya – advancing sustainable HPV vaccination programs in Africa

HPV vaccination coverage across Africa has improved substantially in recent years but remains below elimination thresholds, with persistent gaps in reaching hard-to-reach populations and growing uncertainty around future financing. This report summarizes proceedings from the fifth regional symposium of the Coalition to Strengthen the HPV Immunization Community (CHIC), held in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2025 in collaboration with Kenya's Ministry of Health. The three-day symposium convened over 100 participants from 22 African countries, including national immunisation program managers, ministry officials, researchers, civil society representatives, and global partners (WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, PATH, the Gates Foundation). The agenda, developed through stakeholder interviews and prior scientific and advisory input, centered on six subthemes related to program sustainability. Plenary sessions addressed epidemiological trends, national policy updates including Kenya's transition to a single-dose schedule, and implications of Gavi's upcoming consolidated funding model (Gavi 6.0). Country snapshot presentations and service-delivery case studies facilitated cross-country peer learning. On day three, though an electronic poll of helped to prioritize 12 candidate implementation themes, which structured subsequent round table working groups. Countries then developed individual action plans identifying priority challenges, responsible stakeholders, and implementation timelines. Sustainable service delivery, financing, and data systems emerged as the highest-priority implementation themes. Country action plans most frequently targeted data systems strengthening, communication and community engagement, sustainable service delivery, and financing mechanisms, with additional attention to service integration, hard-to-reach populations, and target population expansion. Cross-cutting synthesis identified recurring concerns regarding HPV vaccination for people living with HIV, fragmented data systems, the role of program integration, financing sustainability under evolving donor models, and underrecognized risks from misinformation, including emerging AI-generated content. The symposium reinforced CHIC's role as a platform for peer-to-peer learning across countries at varying stages of HPV vaccine introduction, surfacing shared structural barriers to sustainability alongside country-specific action plans. Findings underscore the need for sustained political commitment, financing transition planning, digital system strengthening, and multisectoral integration to support the WHO goal of cervical cancer elimination by 2030.