HPV vaccine (in white) defeats HPV virus (in orange) as a girl is immunised by a health worker. The NCIRS-supported pantomime at a rural school in Guadalcanal was part of the HPV Big Catch-up national campaign, launched by Solomon Islands Minister for Health, Dr Paul Basawi. 

Solomon Islands HPV Big Catch-Up campaign delivers strong coverage gains

The Solomon Islands Ministry of Health and Medical Services (MHMS), with support from NCIRS, UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and PATH, implemented the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Big Catch-Up campaign across the South Pacific nation in the second half of 2025. 

Cervical cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer among women in Solomon Islands, with dozens of young women diagnosed – and dying from the disease – each year.

Increasing HPV vaccine coverage is a critical step in reducing this preventable burden.

HPV vaccination is routinely offered to girls aged 9 years through schools and community clinics in the Solomon Islands.

The Big Catch-Up targeted girls aged 9–14 years who had missed routine vaccinations – a cohort of 55,242 girls, 30,830 of whom had not received the HPV vaccine.

Delivered through a combined school-based and community outreach approach, the campaign planned immunisation activities at more than 850 schools nationwide.

Mobile vaccination teams travelled to remote and hard-to-reach communities, including outer islands, to reach girls who were out of school – a recommended action from the 2025 Essential Programme on Immunization review.

The campaign contributed to strong national results. The HPV campaign vaccinated 24,478 girls aged 9–14 years from the target population of 30,830, achieving 79.4% coverage nationwide. This included 2,238 ‘out of school’ girls – or 9% of those vaccinated.
 

Social mobilisation and health promotion

Alongside vaccine delivery and technical support, NCIRS worked with the MHMS Health Promotion and Communications teams to increase awareness, acceptance and demand for HPV vaccination through a social mobilisation campaign.

Key health promotion activities delivered as part of the campaign included:

• billboard displays, printed posters and flipcharts distributed to clinics in Honiara and in community settings across the provinces
• radio announcements broadcast nationally, leveraging the high reach of radio across Solomon Islands
• a coordinated social media campaign targeting girls aged 9–14 years (and their caregivers), led by Paddy Cashman, NCIRS embedded Technical Advisor, in partnership with a local Solomon Islands community organisation
• live drama performances developed and filmed as short awareness videos, alongside HPV reels featuring vaccinated girls and local influencers on Facebook (HPV reel 1, HPV reel 2)  
• community awareness activities captured by local photographers to support documentation and advocacy
• a TikTok ‘HPV Can Be Prevented’ song and dance challenge featuring youth participants and influencers.
   

Outreach and supportive supervision

Across Honiara and provincial areas, teams of nurses delivered HPV vaccinations at schools and in the community.

Advanced microplanning was used to identify and reach girls who were out of school, often locating them in village community spaces such as markets and community centres.

MHMS EPI Coordinator, Jenniffer Anga, and NCIRS-embedded advisor, Paddy Cashman, provided supportive supervision along the eastern coast of Choiseul Province during the campaign, travelling for more than 6 hours by open boat from Taro to Nuatabu and staying overnight at the local clinic to offer support to local vaccination teams.

Throughout, there was a focus on the safety of health workers and community members.

Cold-chain integrity was also maintained in remote locations, with HPV immunisation services delivered across multiple community sites and 3 schools.
 

Lessons learnt

In December 2025, MHMS convened a program implementation review in Honiara, led by Jenniffer and attended by provincial directors, provincial EPI coordinators, cold-chain officers, health promotion officers and pharmacists.

These reviewed lessons learned, highlighting both successful strategies and the ongoing need to strengthen routine immunisation systems through community engagement.

The Big Catch-up campaign is a powerful reminder that reaching every child requires persistence, partnership and locally grounded solutions, according to Jenniffer.

‘It showed what is possible when national leadership, provincial teams and partners work together with communities. Reaching girls who are out of school and in remote areas remains challenging, but this campaign demonstrated that with strong planning and local engagement, we can protect more girls against cervical cancer.’

Although challenges remain, the results demonstrate progress toward increasing HPV immunisation in the Solomon Islands – an achievement that will have meaningful consequences for generations to come. 

World Immunization Week – For every generation, vaccines work