The GAVI Alliance has announced a pricing agreement with Merck and GlaxoSmithKline that will enable millions of girls in developing countries to be protected against cervical cancer.

With the agreement in place, GAVI will begin working with its partners to implement its HPV Vaccine Programme. Starting this month, the program will support HPV vaccine initiatives in Kenya, followed by seven other countries: Ghana, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania. The vaccines, which protect girls and women from the human papillomavirus, a leading cause of cervical cancer, will be sold to GAVI partners, at a significant price reduction, by Merck for $4.50 per dose and by GlaxoSmithKline for $4.60 per dose. The same vaccines can cost as much as $100 in developed countries, while the lowest previous public sector price was $13 per dose.

GAVI's market-shaping efforts help to address market failures for vaccines by aggregating volume, increasing demand, stimulating competition where possible, and ensuring that a sufficient quantity of appropriate quality vaccines is available through a diverse manufacturer base at affordable prices.

"A vast health gap currently exists between girls in rich and poor countries," said GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley. "With GAVI's programs we can begin to bridge that gap so that all girls can be protected against cervical cancer no matter where they are born. By 2020 we hope to reach more than thirty million girls in more than forty countries. This is a transformational moment for the health of women and girls across the world. We thank the manufacturers for working with us to help make this happen."