Researchers say reliance on earmarked voluntary contributions from external donors like the Gates Foundation undermines the WHO's independence.
Home-based testing addresses screening barriers and can mitigate the impact of appointment backlogs and scheduling constraints on patients and healthcare systems, the authors say.
Between 2006 and 2023, vaccination rates reached 82%.
More than a third of US adults are unfamiliar with HPV, and more than 70% are unaware it causes oral cancers.
Uptake of the Tdap and MenACWY vaccines increased among 13- to 17-year-olds in 2024, while HPV vaccine coverage remained unchanged for the third straight year.
The researchers say their study results strongly indicate population immunity.
Increases in HPV vaccination rates were lower than expected.
Of the 19.9 million children who either have no vaccines or only partial DTP vaccination coverage, 55% live in 10 countries.
Much less improvement was seen among participants who were Black or lived in rural or disadvantaged areas.
Results point to a need to increase HPV vaccine uptake and screening, the authors say.
