clockwise Malaria net, vaccination for cervical cancer prevention, Lenacapavir, Measles testing, a TB survivor lamy//WHOclockwise Malaria net, vaccination for cervical cancer prevention, Lenacapavir, Measles testing, a TB survivor lamy//WHOFive big global health wins in 2025 that will save millions of livesFrom HIV to TB, scientists and doctors made breakthroughs in treatment and prevention of some of the world’s deadliest diseasesWith humanitarian funding slashed by the US and other countries, including the UK, this year’s global health headlines have made grim reading. But good things have still been happening in vaccine research and the development of new and improved treatments for some of the most intractable illnesses. Millions of girls protected against cervical cancerA target to protect 86 million girls against cervical cancer by the end of 2025 was achieved ahead of schedule, boosting hopes among experts that cervical cancer can be eliminated within the next century. Gavi, the vaccine alliance, launched its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme in 2014, when vaccine coverage in Africa was just 4%. By the end of 2022, it was only 15% – but scientists had discovered that a single dose could give comparable protection to the two doses originally used.
