Project Title: Educational Outreach on Cervical Cancer, HPV, and the Vaccine

Location: Mali

Grant Amount: $48,522

Grantee Website: www.gaiavaccine.org/

Areas of Impact: Gender Equality, Health

Mission of GAIA Vaccine Foundation
GAIA Vaccine Foundation's mission is to reduce the incidence of infectious diseases that disproportionately affect the underserved and promote the development of globally relevant, globally accessible vaccines that can be distributed on a not-for-profit basis in the developing world.

Summary
Our grant will fund a year-long educational community outreach campaign on HPV, the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer. This campaign will assist in the introduction of the HPV vaccine to Mali and improve general knowledge about HPV/cervical cancer so that women and girls are able to make informed decisions that are in the best interests of their health and wellbeing.

Why We Love This
We love this project because it is innovative in the utilization of a “storytelling cloth” in imparting education on vaccines. This program also focuses on the fact that cervical cancer is a major killer of women in Mali, and this is a logical step in addressing the reduction of cases there.