(SAVANNAH, Ga.) Cervical cancer is entirely preventable, yet Georgia ranks 30th in the nation for its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine coverage rate of only 61.5%.
Healthy Savannah has spent the past year working to change that statistic in Chatham County where cervical cancer mortality rates among Black women are almost one and a half times as high as they are among white women.
Now, it appears those efforts are making a difference. On Saturday, Feb. 8, the organization held a ceremony to recognize the people and organizations that have increased community awareness and acceptance of the vaccine.
“Through a one-year grant provided by CHC: Creating Healthier Communities to elevate awareness of the HPV vaccine and its prevention interventions for certain cancers, we focused on public education, offering numerous public listening sessions, round table discussions and training opportunities in HPV awareness methodologies,” said Dr. Elsie Smalls, HPV VEI manager. “Additionally, we were able to provide 80 gift cards as incentives to receive the HPV vaccine through our community partner, J.C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center. The funding from the grant allowed vaccines to be administered to patients at no cost.”
The Chatham County Health Department also reported a significant increase in vaccine administration. During 2023, it administered a total of 608 human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. The 2024 goal was to increase this by 25% (152 vaccines) to a total of 760 HPV vaccines given.
“We ended the 2024 year giving 791 HPV vaccines total or 30% more than 2023,” said R. Chris Rustin, DrPH, MS, REHS, Public Health director, Chatham County Health Department. “HPV vaccines are challenging in the South due to a variety of misconceptions, so this required a lot of health education. We thank Healthy Savannah for their assistance with educating parents and caregivers on the health benefits of this vaccine and for referrals. We look forward to continuing this partnership and trends of increasing vaccines.”
Healthy Savannah held the first of two HPV listening sessions in April 2024, inviting current, former and prospective community health advocates (CHAs) to introduce the new HPV Vaccination Equity Initiative program. Healthy Savannah first developed its CHA program in 2021 to elevate adult vaccine awareness under the first of two five-year CDC Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grants. Those grants also funded efforts to advance nutrition, physical activity and breastfeeding acceptance in Chatham County’s disproportionately affected populations.
The organization followed the initial HPV listening session with a new CHA training program in May 2024, which focused on the benefits of the HPV vaccine in preventing cervical cancer. Healthy Savannah also hosted a pivotal roundtable discussion in August with leaders of organizations that work with or mentor young people and held a final round of listening and CHA training sessions later in the year.
“Healthy Savannah is extremely proud of being able to support this work,” said Armand Turner, executive director. “Our CHAs have done a phenomenal job and, hopefully, we can keep this work going forward.”
“I have had the opportunity to share with high schools across Chatham County and it has made a huge impact,” said Nina Bryant Hunter, one of 30 CHAs recognized at the program culmination ceremony on Feb. 8. “Some of the reactions I’ve received from students is they had never heard the information before so the ability and knowledge to be able to share on all levels has been very impactful.”
“We were able to bring the information to communities with individuals with disabilities and in Spanish to non-native speaking families so they could advocate for their children’s health,” said Rosie Harrison, CEO of Grow Initiative Georgia and a Healthy Savannah CHA. “We believe that access to a vaccination like HPV is essential and everyone who has access to information will impact one person whether children, neighbors or friends.”
Georgia’s Cancer Control Consortium (GC3) and the HPV Cancer Free GA Workgroup also recently recognized Healthy Savannah for its work in HPV vaccine awareness during the 8th Annual Cervical Cancer Awareness Day event held at The Georgia State Capitol on January 16.
“We were honored to receive the 2025 HPV Champion award in recognition of our efforts to promote awareness of HPV-related diseases and cancers while increasing HPV vaccination rates across the state of Georgia,” said Smalls. “We are proud to be recognized for our rewarding work in the community, which includes educational outreach, advocacy for HPV vaccination, and initiatives that improve access to preventive healthcare services.”
Although Healthy Savannah’s goal with its HPV Vaccination Equity Program was to increase local awareness of the vaccine in preventing certain cancers, the success of its efforts is now receiving national attention. Smalls has been asked to speak at the National HPV Conference scheduled for April 15-17 in Indianapolis.
The HPV vaccine protects against the types of viral strands that most often cause cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and throat/mouth cancers. The CDC says HPV vaccination is recommended for preteens aged 11 to 12 years but can be given starting at age 9 up through age 26. The CDC says it is also possible for those up to age 45 to benefit from the vaccine after consulting with their doctor.
ABOUT THE HEALTHY SAVANNAH HPV VACCINATION EQUITY INITIATIVE
In February 2024, CHC: Creating Healthier Communities awarded a one-year $150,000 grant to Healthy Savannah to promote vaccine equity to prevent cancer and support new and expanded community-driven solutions to address social and other factors that negatively impact access to cancer prevention interventions for disproportionately affected populations in the Savannah area. Specifically, the grant supports Healthy Savannah’s initiatives in developing, implementing, and bringing resources and policy attention to solutions that break down barriers of mistrust in the healthcare system, skepticism of vaccine effectiveness and lack of awareness about vaccine access, as well as the availability of prevention interventions for certain cancers. Healthy Savannah is one of only three organizations across the state of Georgia to be awarded this grant and has adapted its award-winning Community Health Advocate (CHA) program, working with more than 200 community partners and organizations, to foster sustainable health equity in this space. Healthy Savannah developed the CHA program during the first of two five-year CDC Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grants it currently administers with the YMCA of Coastal Georgia. The methodology uses an “upstream” approach to foster sustainable health equity among racial and ethnic minority populations in low-wealth neighborhoods in areas of nutrition, physical activity and the reduction of chronic diseases. In July 2022, Healthy Savannah received the CDC’s 2022 REACH Lark Galloway-Gilliam Award for Advancing Health Equity Challenge. The award recognizes extraordinary individuals and entities whose work has contributed to advancing health equity.
For more information, visit https://healthysavannah.org/our-programs/adult-immunization/hpv/
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