Vaccination teams will thereafter visit outstanding public primary and special schools to reach learners who may have missed earlier vaccination opportunities. “Cervical cancer remains one of the most common cancers affecting women in South Africa, yet it is largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular cervical cancer screening,” the department said. The department said the 2025/26 HPV vaccination campaign achieved encouraging results in both public and independent schools. Public schools recorded an 80% learner vaccination rate, compared with 37.7% in independent schools. Challenges at independent schoolsHowever, officials acknowledged that several challenges affected vaccine uptake, particularly in independent schools.