It is viewed as a key public health intervention that helps protect girls ages 9 to 14 from HPV infection and HPV-related diseases, including cervical cancer.
Recently, national government agencies convened for a technical dialogue on the use of geospatial information and data visualization to strengthen health service delivery, particularly HPV vaccination.
The said event brought together representatives from bureaus under the bigger departments such as the Department of Health’s (DOH), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The said program is implemented by Jhpiego in partnership with DOH and DepEd, under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded HPV Vaccination Acceleration Program Partners Initiative (HAPPI).
The said initiative used official DepEd school-based immunization data from 2015 to 2024 to develop geospatial dashboards and heat maps that can support evidence-based planning and decision-making.
The technical products also provide visualizations of first-dose HPV vaccination (HPV1) coverage, school participation rates among provincial- and city-level schools division offices, the distribution of schools based on HPV1 coverage, and municipal- and city-level HPV1 vaccination coverage.
Moreover, the initiative also developed a health facility accessibility geospatial tool using isochrones to show public schools alongside their corresponding HPV1 coverage.
Dr. Anthony Calibo, Immunization Technical Advisor at Jhpiego Philippines, explained: “Geospatial data allow us to see vaccination coverage beyond the numbers. By visualizing where coverage is strong and where gaps remain, decision-makers can better understand the local context and identify opportunities to strengthen HPV vaccination delivery.”
He also emphasized: “This is an important step toward making data more actionable for planning and ultimately reaching more eligible children.”
Jade Ashley Corpuz, Economic Development Specialist I of DEPDev, also highlighted: “The dashboards can help identify local government units with significant gaps in HPV vaccination coverage and provide useful evidence for the formulation and updating of regional development and investment plans. This kind of data can help planners better understand where gaps exist and where resources and interventions may be needed.”
Policy recommendations from DOH and DepEd related to the use of geospatial information for HPV vaccination planning may also be presented to the Social Development Committee under DEPDev.
The units of these departments have also agreed to pursue a joint agreement for hosting the dashboards, including a cost-sharing arrangement, through a memorandum of agreement.
As part of the transition, Jhpiego will turn over the GitHub repository containing the dashboards and other geospatial tools to DOH and DepEd.
Following the handover, these resources will undergo further evaluation, validation and review by the concerned government agencies to determine their suitability, technical requirements and potential application in supporting HPV vaccination planning and related government initiatives.
The technical products will Tjen be formally handed over to DOH and DepEd during the HAPPI Project’s upcoming completion ceremony, which will be another step toward strengthening the use of data, technology and geospatial insights in HPV vaccination planning and cervical cancer elimination efforts.
