Press Release: Launch of the latest HPV Prevention Policy Atlas at Polish Senate
Warsaw, 24 November 2025 – The European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF) together with the Institute for Patients‘ Rights and Health Education in Poland (IPPEZ) and the European Cancer Organisation (ECO) have launched the new edition of the HPV Prevention Policy Atlas 2025 at the Polish Senate during the event “HPV prevention in Poland and Europe”.
The event, hosted by Senator Beata Małecka-Libera, featured interventions from Polish government officials, representatives of academia and civil society, who shared Poland’s strategies and efforts to prevent HPV. Thanks to the diverse expertise of the contributors, Poland’s fight against HPV was discussed from multiple perspectives, including public health, epidemiology, clinical oncology, prevention, social communication, and health education. The key findings of the latest HPV Prevention Policy Atlas were presented by representatives of EPF and ECO, namely Marina Davidashvili, Head of Policy and Research of EPF, and Silvia Romeo, Policy Officer of ECO.
Key Findings and Methodology
Led by the European Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights and supported by the European Cancer Organisation, the HPV Atlas aims to provide up-to-date, publicly available information on cervical cancer across all countries in the European region, in line with the WHO's cervical cancer elimination strategy and Europe's Beating Cancer Plan.
The research reveals an overall positive trend since the previous edition. Denmark, Sweden and Portugal are the best performers with strong national vaccination policies, high vaccination coverage rates and extensive catch-up cohorts programmes. On the contrary, Azerbaijan ranks lowest due to its lack of public funding for vaccination programmes.
The 2025 edition of the HPV Prevention Policy Atlas introduces an updated methodology that gives more weight to the Vaccination Coverage Rate (VCR), thereby providing a clearer and more action-oriented overview of national HPV prevention systems. It also includes two new criteria: the availability of the catch up cohorts and the actual screening participation rates. While many countries, including Poland, have made substantial progress in strengthening their HPV prevention policies, low vaccination rates have a higher weight in the overall score.
In recent years, Poland has implemented significant systemic improvements, such as the introduction of a national programme, clearer access pathways and enhanced information provision. Poland’s policies are strong and are moving in the right direction. However, the updated methodology emphasises the remaining implementation gap in vaccination uptake. The 2025 score should therefore be understood as a more precise tool to guide national priorities, with increasing HPV vaccination coverage emerging as the key next step.
For the first time, the HPV Prevention Policy Atlas also provides an insight into countries' catch-up programmes and their participation rates in cervical cancer screening. Although the groundwork was often laid with strong, systematic results, vaccination coverage and screening rates remain far from WHO and EU goals and targets. This suggests that despite positive developments, substantial efforts and work are still required.
EPF, ECO and the IPPEZ in Poland express sincere gratitude to all partners, participants, speakers, and attendees for their active engagement throughout the event. The launch of the HPV Prevention Policy Atlas 2025 marks a significant milestone in advancing HPV prevention efforts in Poland and Europe.
For any additional information, please contact:
Chiara Sammito, EPF Communications Officer
About EPF
The European Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF) is a network of parliamentarians committed to advancing global health, gender equality, and human rights. Its Global Parliamentary Alliance for Health, Rights and Development (GPA), launched in 2019, brings together over 160 parliamentarians and numerous parliamentary working groups from across Europe and the Global South.
About the European Cancer Organisation
The European Cancer Organisation (ECO) is the largest non-profit, multi-professional federation in Europe. It brings together hundreds of different professional societies and patient groups to advocate for more effective, efficient, and equitable cancer care.
About IPPEZ
The Institute for Patient Rights and Health Education (IPPEZ) is a foundation established in 2004 on the initiative of Father Arkadiusz Nowak, PhD. Its mission is to support systemic solutions that improve the situation of patients and promote healthy attitudes in society. IPPEZ actively participates in public consultations, conducts advocacy activities, organizes expert meetings, and provides support and advice to non-governmental organizations working for patients. It also prepares reports and analyses on current issues in healthcare and patient rights.
