Key findings:

• Each year, around 600 New Zealanders are diagnosed with a cancer caused by HPV infection.

• These include oropharyngeal (throat), cervical and ano-genital cancers, with more than half being oropharyngeal cancer, which has been increasing by around 5% annually since 2006.

• The cost of cancers associated with HPV are high and avoidable: >$105 million in 2019–2022.

• Further costs of pre-cancer detection and treatment could also be avoided. For instance, colposcopy and colposcopy directed treatments of $49 million were incurred during 2019-2022.

• In addition to this, there is the cost of the cervical screening programme.

• HPV vaccination is recognised internationally as being safe and cost-effective at preventing HPV-related cancers, but New Zealand has poor vaccination rates and unacceptable inequities.

• Aotearoa New Zealand’s own national targets are low by international standards, yet the country has continually failed to meet these lower targets. Vaccination rates dropped even further during and post-COVID.

• By comparison, other countries are achieving herd immunity with HPV vaccination programmes and are able to wind down cervical screening programmes and avoid other health costs.

• Low HPV vaccination rates represent a missed opportunity to reduce health system costs, as well as costs and burden of disease for individuals and whānau.