TogetHER for Health Newsletter: April 22, 2026

Dear Supporter,

The tools to prevent – and eliminate – cervical cancer are effective and increasingly affordable. The true challenge lies in ensuring access to information and services for the women and girls who need them most.

TogetHER for Health supports innovative cervical cancer projects in parts of the world where that unmet need is highest. That’s why we chose Dawa Health as a recipient of our Cervical Cancer Grants Program.

Dawa Health’s unique approach to getting Zambian women screened for cervical cancer combines cutting-edge AI chatbots and gold-standard HPV self-testing kits delivered by motorbike, supported by a trained network of community health workers. Dawa Health is literally delivering women’s health products and services at the last mile. 

It’s a model we’re thrilled to spotlight in the first of our new video series as part of our Prevention is the Point campaign. Click here to watch our new video on how Dawa Health is saving women’s lives – and how you can play a role in supporting our next round of awards. 

Watch our new video here!

Empowering Cancer Survivors to Advocate for Women’s Health

Having lived through a cancer diagnosis and the necessary treatment that follows, cancer survivors are some of the most powerful advocates for prevention. Their experiences serve as a reminder that early detection can avert unnecessary suffering and the devastating impacts on the health of individuals and the well-being of their families. 

TogetHER for Health teamed up with fellow Alabama-based cancer prevention and advocacy organizations VAX 2 STOP CANCER and the Laura Crandall Brown Foundation to organize a workshop on April 11th giving survivors in Alabama new skills to use their experiences to inform and inspire others. 

A group of ten cancer survivors gathered at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Parish in Birmingham, Alabama for this storytelling and advocacy workshop, where they received practical communications advice, opportunities to practice their new skills, and details on advocacy events and opportunities across Alabama. We look forward to seeing these amazing women telling their powerful stories and inspiring change in the months and years to come. 

Read more about this powerful event here!

Read our 2025 Year in Review!

TogetHER was launched in 2018 to take on the global health emergency of cervical cancer through advocacy, partnership, and knowledge-sharing. After years of halting progress, 2025 saw the onset of a difficult period for global women’s health. We’ve seen aid agencies shuttered and billions in funding for global vaccines withheld.

We at TogetHER remain inspired by our vision of a world without cervical cancer deaths. We know we’re not alone. Our 2025 Year in Review summarizes last year’s efforts to sustain the momentum for ending this preventable cancer for all time no matter the challenges.

Click here to read our 2025 Year in Review!

HPV Vaccine Benefits for Men

Our focus at TogetHER is on ending deaths from cervical cancer – a preventable disease that is almost entirely caused by long-term infection by carcinogenic strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV). Real-world evidence that vaccinating against HPV is drastically lowering cervical cancer diagnoses gets stronger every day – and that’s not where the benefits end. 

A new study undertaken by researchers at Japan’s Nara Prefecture General Medical Center and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health was published this month in JAMA Oncology, suggesting that HPV vaccination is also having a dramatic effect on HPV-linked head and neck cancers in men – around a 50% reduction. These data bolster the case for widespread immunization to end transmission of HPV for all. The original article (paywalled) is here; a useful summary from the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) can be found here. 

Cervical cancer elimination would benefit the world by ending a major killer of women and a threat to their families and communities. As this research shows, HPV vaccination protects against multiple types of cancer, offering protection across a lifetime. 

From Zambia to Alabama, we’re so grateful for the opportunity to partner with others working  to end cervical cancer. Please consider supporting TogetHER’s Prevention is the Point campaign to keep moving great organizations and ideas forward.

TogetHER for Health
Working together to save women from cervical cancer