In 2007, Merck made a major commitment to help improve access to GARDASIL in developing countries.

Through the GARDASIL^® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] Access Program, Merck pledged to donate at least 3 million doses of GARDASIL for use in smaller-scale human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination projects in eligible lowest-income countries around the world, to enable participating organizations and institutions in those countries to gain operational experience in designing and implementing HPV vaccination projects.

Program Update

Recently, the GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership focused on increasing access to immunization in developing countries, has opened the funding window for HPV vaccines––giving countries the opportunity to sustainably introduce the vaccine through a demonstration or national program.

In this context and following consultation with a wide array of stakeholders, including WHO, GAVI, PATH, other public health organizations, select ministries of health and some GARDASIL Access Program participants, Merck and Axios Healthcare Development (AHD) have decided that the GARDASIL Access Program will no longer be awarding doses of GARDASIL to new projects. However, Merck's full donation commitment of at least three million doses of GARDASIL will be honored and options for how remaining doses of GARDASIL could be used are currently being explored. Importantly, commitments to already-awarded projects will continue to be honored.

In addition, collecting information from past and current Program participants by AHD will continue to be a key focus as a means of sharing the data and experience from the GARDASIL Access Program with the public health community.

By actively disseminating information from the operational experiences and the lessons learned by participants, the program is contributing to the public knowledge base on HPV vaccine access and child and adolescent immunization models in developing countries.

The GARDASIL Access Program received proposals from applicants to conduct smaller scale HPV vaccination projects, rather than nationwide programs. All applicants were required to secure formal endorsement from their respective ministries of health, and encouraged to follow World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and guidelines for HPV vaccination.

The program is managed by Axios Healthcare Development (AHD), a U.S. nonprofit organization, with strategic guidance provided by the independent GARDASIL Access Program Advisory Board, made up of international public health experts. AHD administers the program, reviews and approves applications based on Advisory Board recommendations, and coordinates delivery of donated vaccine to participants, with technical assistance from Axios International, a public health consultancy specializing in developing and emerging countries.

As of December 2011:

• More than 867,200 doses of GARDASIL have shipped to 19 participants, in support of their proposed HPV-vaccination projects in 19 countries: Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Cameroon, Georgia, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea, Uganda and Uzbekistan.
• These 19 participants have completed 10 HPV-vaccination projects in 8 countries: Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Haiti, Lesotho, Moldova, Nepal and Tanzania.
• There are nine ongoing HPV-vaccination projects in eight countries: Bolivia, Cameroon, Georgia, Kiribati, Lesotho, Nepal, Uzbekistan and Uganda.
• Axios Healthcare Development routinely interviews all GARDASIL Access Program participants and analyzes their formal progress reports to synthesize lessons learned from the program. AHD also publishes semiannual program newsletters highlighting the experiences of participants.
• Recent Update: As of August 2012, the program has awarded more than 1.2 million doses of GARDASIL, of which over one million have already been shipped to Program participants in 20 countries to vaccinate more than 342,000 eligible girls.