Our 2025-2026 Annual Report is now available. This yearly report showcases the WFPHA’s key initiatives and activities aimed at protecting people, preventing diseases, and promoting global health and well-being. As always, we thank our members, sponsors, partners, colleagues, and friends for promoting public health.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent infections in the world, affecting up to 80% of individuals at some point in their lives. While the immune system clears most infections naturally, persistent high-risk HPV oncogenic genotypes can lead to serious health outcomes, including cervical, anal, vaginal, vulvar, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers.
Even with highly effective vaccines authorized for adults and available in sufficient supply, vaccination rates among adults remain far too low. Expanding adult HPV vaccination offers a vital opportunity to reduce disease burden, strengthen long-term health outcomes, and accelerate progress toward broader cancer prevention goals.
Although early HPV prevention initiatives largely prioritized younger age groups, there is now broad recognition that universal HPV vaccination across adulthood is a crucial component of comprehensive disease prevention. Adults continue to face new exposure risks throughout their lives, and vaccination can protect them against HPV types they have not yet encountered.
Importantly, natural immunity from previous infections does not offer complete protection against other high-risk genotypes, meaning adults with prior HPV exposure still gain meaningful benefit from vaccination. Emerging evidence also highlights positive outcomes when vaccination is delivered before or after cervical conization, reinforcing its value across different stages of adult care.
Although clinical and economic advantages are well-established, adult vaccine uptake remains low due to:
Many adults were not vaccinated during adolescence due to eligibility criteria, vaccine availability, or limitations in the healthcare system. Expanding eligibility can close this gap.
Policymakers are key to establishing sustainable vaccination programs by embedding HPV vaccination for medically or socially vulnerable adults into routine healthcare and ensuring adequate funding and equitable access. Adult programs should not compromise coverage in younger populations. Cultural and linguistic sensitivity must also be part of these strategies to support trust and acceptance.
WHO has set ambitious goals for cervical cancer elimination, prioritizing adolescent girls as the primary target group, but extending vaccination to boys and adults whenever feasible. National programs should move forward using emerging evidence and practical implementation models.
Strengthened vaccination systems can help reduce HPV-related cancers, improve health equity, and support progress toward global elimination.
This call to action emphasizes the value of adult HPV vaccination from public health and economic perspectives. It highlights the global burden of HPV-related diseases and successful policy models from multiple countries.
Key recommendations include integrating adult vaccination into routine care, expanding national immunization guidelines, strengthening awareness efforts, and adopting universal and inclusive approaches that span ages, genders, and geographies.
Risk-based approaches are limited due to the widespread nature of HPV and varied exposure patterns. Several key considerations support universal adult vaccination:
Individuals continue to face new exposure risk throughout adulthood.
Without access to established screening programs and often acquiring infections later, adult males represent a highly vulnerable group.
To eliminate HPV-related cancers, transmission must be stopped at its source, requiring immunization of both women and men.
Adults previously exposed to certain HPV types still benefit from protection against other genotypes.
Adult vaccination provides direct protection while reducing transmission and decreasing overall disease burden.
Many national funding systems exclude adults who are still at risk.
Success depends on convenience, such as pharmacies, workplaces, and community hubs serving as vaccination sites.
Clear and unified policy guidance is essential to strengthen recommendations and drive adoption.
These regions carry the highest disease burden and must be active contributors to ensure global equity.
Countries like Sweden demonstrate that vaccinating adults can accelerate the elimination of HPV-related cancers.
Language such as “universal vaccination” promotes gender equity and reduces stigma.
Governments, global health organizations, and national public health associations are urged to expand HPV vaccination programs, particularly for adults and males, mobilize resources, and embed evidence-based strategies into national immunization plans.
By committing to these priorities today, countries can accelerate cancer prevention and move closer to eliminating HPV-related disease.
Expanding HPV vaccination to adults is a critical, evidence-based strategy to reduce HPV-related disease and advance global cancer prevention. Universal adult vaccination delivers individual and population-level benefits, especially in regions with limited access to screening and care. Progress requires collaboration among policymakers and health leaders to address gaps in access, awareness, and coverage.
Integration into routine healthcare, stigma-free and inclusive communication, and a focus on vulnerable populations, such as individuals living with conditions like HIV, are essential. Taking timely action will drive progress toward eliminating HPV-related cancers and building a more equitable global health future.
Read our original call to action here.
Immunization is a lifelong shield that goes beyond childhood. While pediatric vaccination programs have seen tremendous success, adult and adolescent immunization remains a dangerously overlooked pillar of global health. This critical gap leaves populations vulnerable to preventable diseases, pandemics, and needless suffering at every stage of life.
For decades, vaccination has been rightly celebrated for its role in conquering infectious diseases. A powerful new consensus from the world’s top health organization is expanding its mission: vaccination is a cornerstone of preventing non-communicable diseases (NCDS) like heart attacks, strokes, and diabetic complications.
The urgency to close this gap has never been greater. This paradigm shift is the driving force behind a new global initiative.
In November 2024, a pivotal meeting in Geneva, convened by the world’s most influential health and community NGOs, aimed to address a silent crisis: the alarming decline in adult vaccination rates and its cascading impact on global health.
The result was a Call to Action: International Health and Community NGOs Advocate for Life-Course Vaccination. This document represents a consensus among organizations that collectively represent millions of health professionals and citizens worldwide. It moves the conversation from why life-course immunization is essential to how we must achieve it. Now, with a vital new concept, life-course vaccination is necessary for NCD prevention and healthy aging.
Supported by a Coalition of Global Health Leaders.
This call to action is endorsed by the following organizations, representing millions of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, public health experts, medical students, and aging advocates worldwide.
The traditional benefits of vaccination, such as preventing outbreaks, reducing healthcare costs, and protecting the vulnerable, remain critically important. Yet, recent data reveal a concerning decline in vaccination rates, posing a threat to global health security.
Reports from the WHO, UNICEF, and other bodies show:
This evidence underscores the urgent need for the coordinated strategy outlined in the new Call to Action.
By preventing the initial infection, vaccines directly prevent the chronic conditions that follow.
The coalition’s document provides a clear roadmap. Here are the 10 critical actions it urges advocates and policymakers to implement:
Adopting this framework offers profound advantages that strengthen societies:
Implementing this vision requires a commitment from all sectors. The Call to Action provides the blueprint, but we all have a role to play in its implementation.
Life-course immunization is a fundamental right and a shared societal responsibility. We can no longer silo infectious disease and chronic disease efforts. We must unite these two pillars of health.
Life-course immunization is the powerful and practical link that ties it all together. The 2024 Geneva Call to Action provides the definitive framework for achieving this goal. By embracing this strategy, we aren’t just preventing the flu or shingles; we are preventing heart failure, debilitating pain, and cancer. We aim to promote health throughout a person’s lifetime, rather than just treating a specific illness or condition.
By uniting behind this powerful consensus from the world’s leading health authorities, we can build healthier, more equitable, and more resilient communities for generations to come.
If your organization would like to endorse our Call to Action and join us in this effort, please get in touch with us at secretariat@wfpha.org
Click here to read the full, official Call to Action document supported by international NGOs
The definition of advocacy may vary slightly across disciplines. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health advocacy is a combination of social actions aimed at securing political commitment, policy support, social acceptance, and systems support for a particular goal or program. Advocacy is identified as one of the core functions of public health and is a key tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In global public health, advocacy involves engaging diverse stakeholders in decision-making to improve population health. National public health associations and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in advocating, advising decision-makers, guiding initiatives, and raising citizens’ awareness. Advocacy initiatives and campaigns, joint position statements, resolutions, and internal policies are recognized as the primary tools for influencing public health policy.
As countries continue to address challenges ranging from climate change and emerging infectious diseases to health inequities and workforce shortages, understanding the role of public health associations in shaping policy has become increasingly important. Their advocacy efforts help translate evidence into action and ensure that public health remains a priority within national and international decision-making processes.
In a recent study by researchers from the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA), public health advocacy activities conducted by national public health associations between 2018 and 2021 were examined to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities to strengthen future policy development.
The study included 12 national public health associations representing:
A total of 220 officially approved policy documents were analyzed, including position statements, internal policies, white papers, and official submissions to government bodies.
According to the study, the largest number of policy documents originated from high-income countries and focused primarily on environmental health and communicable diseases, including COVID-19. However, significant regional differences emerged.
In the African region, public health advocacy focused primarily on strengthening health systems. This emphasis reflects the importance of building resilient health infrastructure, expanding access to services, and improving population health outcomes.
Women’s and child health also emerged as an important area of advocacy, particularly in Nigeria.
Public health associations in Europe and South America devoted much of their advocacy work to communicable diseases and pandemic management.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of preparedness, surveillance systems, evidence-informed policymaking, and coordinated responses to public health emergencies.
In North America and the Western Pacific region, climate change and environmental health were dominant advocacy themes.
This reflects growing recognition that environmental determinants—including air quality, extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and climate-related health risks—have profound implications for population health.
The analysis identified 11 major advocacy themes across all participating public health associations:
Including COVID-19 preparedness, prevention, response, and vaccination policies.
Including climate change, pollution, sustainability, and planetary health.
Advocating for fair access to health services and addressing social determinants of health.
Supporting stronger healthcare systems, workforce development, financing, and service delivery.
Promoting health as a human right and protecting vulnerable populations.
Addressing growing mental health challenges and substance-related harms.
Including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.
Supporting maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes.
Advocating for healthier food systems and improved nutrition policies.
Addressing preventable injuries and violence-related health burdens.
Promoting cross-border collaboration and global health cooperation.
One of the most important findings of the study was that relatively limited attention was paid to international health and health as a human right across all regions.
Given the interconnected nature of modern public health challenges—including pandemics, climate change, migration, and health inequities—there is a growing need for more internationally focused advocacy efforts.
The study suggests that future advocacy should be more strongly rooted in:
The study revealed that public health associations are active advocates across a broad range of health issues. However, additional efforts are needed to strengthen the effectiveness of advocacy and policy impact.
According to the researchers, several priorities could improve future advocacy efforts:
Evidence-based policymaking remains essential for designing effective health interventions and demonstrating impact.
Making public health data more accessible to policymakers and decision-makers can support faster and more informed policy responses.
Adequate resources are necessary to maintain advocacy efforts and implement long-term public health strategies.
Citizen engagement and awareness can help build support for public health policies and strengthen accountability.
The study also recommends broadening advocacy efforts beyond traditional public health stakeholders.
Future advocacy initiatives could involve:
Working together as a unified voice may help strengthen policy influence, increase public awareness, and support the adoption of evidence-informed health policies.
Public health associations serve as a critical bridge between research, policy, and practice. By translating scientific evidence into policy recommendations, they help governments and institutions respond to evolving health challenges.
As the world continues to confront climate change, future pandemics, health inequities, and emerging global threats, strong advocacy from public health associations will remain essential to advancing health equity, strengthening health systems, and ensuring that health is considered across all sectors of society.
This study demonstrates that public health associations play a vital role in shaping global public health policies through advocacy, evidence-informed recommendations, and stakeholder engagement.
While advocacy efforts between 2018 and 2021 focused heavily on environmental health, communicable diseases, and health system strengthening, the findings also highlight opportunities for a more international and intersectoral approach grounded in the recognition of health as a human right and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Moving forward, stronger collaboration among public health associations, policymakers, researchers, journalists, and civil society will be essential to building healthier, more equitable, and more resilient societies worldwide.
Global forced displacement has reached unprecedented levels. As a result of persecution, armed conflict, generalized violence, natural disasters, famine, and economic instability, millions of people have been forced to leave their homes in search of safety and protection.
Among the many health challenges refugees face, access to oral health care remains an often-overlooked issue despite its importance to overall health, well-being, and quality of life.
This policy brief from the FDI World Dental Federation, the Framework Convention on Global Health Alliance, the Sustainable Health Equity Movement, and the World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) calls for urgent action to ensure that refugees can access essential oral health services as a matter of health equity and human rights.
The scale of global forced displacement continues to increase worldwide.
According to international estimates cited in this policy brief, more than 103 million people had been forcibly displaced worldwide by mid-2022, including over 32 million refugees, with more than two in five under the age of 18.
Refugees are among the most vulnerable and marginalized populations globally. They frequently encounter barriers to healthcare caused by:
While these challenges affect many aspects of health, oral health is often overlooked despite being an essential component of overall health and well-being.
Like all people, refugees are entitled to access health care, including oral health care, as guaranteed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
This right is reinforced by the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which require countries to provide healthcare without discrimination and on the same basis as nationals.
Access to oral health care should therefore not be viewed as an optional service. It is an important part of fulfilling the right to health and advancing health equity for displaced populations.
Evidence consistently shows that refugees experience higher rates of oral disease while facing greater barriers to care.
Studies referenced in the policy brief indicate that refugees often experience:
At the same time, refugees are less likely to access preventive oral health services and frequently seek care only when experiencing severe pain or emergencies.
Language barriers, limited mobility, financial challenges, unfamiliarity with health systems, and reduced service availability can all delay access to timely and affordable care.
The burden of oral disease among refugee populations represents a significant but often neglected public health challenge that requires urgent attention.
Oral health promotion and disease prevention are especially important during pregnancy and early childhood.
Research cited in the policy brief demonstrates that a mother’s:
can significantly influence her children’s oral health outcomes.
Maternal oral health is closely linked to childhood oral health outcomes, including the risk of dental caries.
Studies have shown that refugee maternal oral health literacy is associated with children’s oral health outcomes. However, misconceptions about oral health during pregnancy remain common.
Creating supportive systems that empower mothers and caregivers with oral health knowledge can help establish:
Women also play a critical role in supporting the health of families and communities, including children, older adults, and medically vulnerable family members.
Investing in maternal oral health literacy is therefore an important strategy for improving community health more broadly.
Refugees are entitled to primary healthcare services, including oral healthcare.
The World Health Organization’s Global Oral Health Action Plan provides important guidance on what constitutes essential oral health care.
Services that address:
Services that support early detection and prevention, including:
Comprehensive oral health systems should also consider:
Access to these services should be integrated into primary healthcare systems and made available to refugees without discrimination.
Promoting oral health for refugees is not solely a healthcare issue.
It is also a matter of:
Ensuring equitable access to oral healthcare supports the core commitment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to “leave no one behind.”
Refugees cannot achieve their full health potential if oral health continues to be excluded from refugee health planning, service delivery, and policy development.
The FDI World Dental Federation, Framework Convention on Global Health Alliance, Sustainable Health Equity Movement, and World Federation of Public Health Associations recognize that oral health is an integral part of overall health and well-being. Access to oral health care is a fundamental human right.
They urge policymakers, healthcare providers, and international and national organizations to:
Include oral health as part of current and future refugee health priorities, particularly for:
Promote understanding of oral health and refugee health rights among:
Ensure access to essential oral health services as an integral component of:
through partnerships with national and local dental and health organizations.
Refugees face significant barriers to achieving and maintaining good oral health despite clear international commitments to health equity and human rights.
Addressing oral health needs through prevention, education, maternal health initiatives, and equitable access to essential services can improve health outcomes across the life course while strengthening broader refugee health systems.
Promoting oral health for refugees is therefore not only a public health priority but also an essential step toward advancing dignity, equity, and the right to health for all.
View additional FAQs on promoting oral health for refugees below:
What oral health challenges do refugees face?
Refugees commonly experience higher rates of dental caries, periodontal disease, traumatic dental injuries, and barriers to accessing timely oral health services.
Why is oral health important for refugees?
Oral health is an essential part of overall health and well-being, affecting nutrition, communication, quality of life, and broader health outcomes.
Are refugees entitled to oral health care?
Yes. International human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the 1951 Refugee Convention, support refugees’ right to healthcare without discrimination.
Why is maternal oral health important in refugee populations?
Maternal oral health knowledge and behaviors significantly influence children’s oral health outcomes and can help prevent oral disease across generations.
“Fighting climate change today is the best public health opportunity.” – Maria Neira, the World Health Organization
“We are all responsible for the health of the planet.” – Emma Te-Patu, World Federation of Public Health Associations
As the world continues to navigate the long-term impacts of COVID-19, conversations about global health security have expanded beyond pandemic preparedness alone. Public health leaders increasingly recognize that the health of people, communities, and health systems cannot be separated from the health of the planet.
This connection was the focus of the plenary session “No Public Health Without Planetary Health” at the 17th World Congress on Public Health in Rome. The message remains just as relevant today as the global public health community prepares for the 18th World Congress on Public Health in Cape Town, South Africa, under the theme “Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability.”
The concept of planetary health recognizes that human health depends on thriving natural systems. Clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food, stable ecosystems, and a safe climate form the foundation of population health.
In an increasingly interconnected world, environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change are no longer solely environmental concerns. They are public health concerns.
As Emma Te-Patu, WFPHA Immediate Past President and Māori public health leader, explains:
“There is no such thing as the health of only one country. We are all responsible for the health of the planet and understanding and drawing on the Indigenous people’s knowledge systems that have been in place from time immemorial and authentically engaging with this knowledge and using it to inform our global health needs collectively and from an understanding that health is a human right and is, therefore, a priority above all.”
Promoting global health is a vital mission in an interconnected world. It requires cooperation among governments, public health organizations, healthcare professionals, educators, volunteers, advocates, and communities.
Ms. Te-Patu identifies five priorities that are essential to strengthening public health globally:
Removing systemic barriers to equity and ensuring that diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous perspectives, are meaningfully included in public health decision-making.
Sustainable investment is necessary to strengthen health systems and improve preparedness for future challenges.
Countries need legislative mechanisms that ensure accountability for protecting and advancing public health.
A resilient public health workforce is critical to responding to emerging health threats and improving population health outcomes.
Public health education must remain accessible, evidence-based, and responsive to contemporary challenges.
Ms. Te-Patu also highlights several major barriers to improving public health outcomes:
These challenges become even more significant when viewed through the lens of climate change and planetary health.
Global crises are increasingly interconnected. Climate change affects food systems, water security, air quality, disease patterns, displacement, and economic stability.
As a result, climate change is widely recognized as one of the defining public health challenges of the 21st century.
Maria Neira, Director of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health at the World Health Organization (WHO), emphasizes the breadth of its impact:
“Climate change is definitely touching all the pillars and supports of our health: access to food, to safe drinking water, and to clean air. It is changing the way we will protect our health and the way we need to prevent the worst impacts of climate change.”
She adds:
“People need to understand that climate change is not just something that will happen to the planet in the future, but it is affecting our health right now: it affects our lungs, and it causes diseases. We are already paying for it.”
According to the World Health Organization:
These impacts are not distributed equally.
Low-income countries and vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by:
The result is a growing challenge for public health systems worldwide.
Environmental risks continue to drive preventable illness and death.
As Maria Neira notes:
“We know that an unhealthy environment is responsible for 13 million deaths every year due to the lack of safe water or the lack of clean air.”
She further highlights that:
“The toxic air alone kills 7 million people annually.”
Creating healthier environments supports access to:
It also helps address emerging concerns such as plastic pollution and microplastics in the food chain.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities and inequities across health systems worldwide.
Strengthening global resilience requires investment not only in emergency response but also in prevention, surveillance, research, and environmental sustainability.
Ms. Te-Patu identifies several priorities for improving global health security:
An international instrument designed to prepare the world better for future pandemics.
Public health decisions should include meaningful consultation with communities and civil society organizations.
Health systems are stronger when they reflect diverse experiences, perspectives, and knowledge systems.
International, regional, national, and local actors must work together to address shared challenges.
Clear and transparent communication is essential for building trust and improving public health outcomes.
The relationship between planetary health and public health remains one of the defining issues of our time.
As Maria Neira concludes:
“We are all citizens of the world now. Pandemics do not recognize borders, so a united international response is vital. The same approach is used when we deal with the environment. If, for example, we do the deforestation in the Amazonia, in one way or another, it will affect all of us.”
This message strongly resonates with the theme of the 18th World Congress on Public Health in Cape Town, South Africa: “Health Without Borders: Equity, Inclusion and Sustainability.”
Whether addressing climate change, environmental degradation, pandemic preparedness, or health inequities, the principle remains the same:
Protecting population health requires protecting the systems that sustain life itself. Climate action, environmental stewardship, Indigenous knowledge, equitable health systems, and global cooperation are not separate agendas. They are fundamental components of a healthier, more sustainable future for all.
Recent Comments