Harnessing the power of teenage girls by giving HPV vaccine access to all

Ensuring that all girls have access to the HPV vaccine would not only reduce rates of cancer but would also enable the provision of other critical services, writes Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

When you think of teenage girls, you might imagine common stereotypes, from the ‘mean girl’ to the sullen high schooler locked in her bedroom. The reality is that teenage girls are not only some of the world’s most marginalised people; they also have virtually unmatched potential to help build a better future for all.

As it stands, adolescent girls are routinely denied control over their destinies. More than 32m of the poorest are currently out of school. Every day, 39,000 girls under the age of 18 become someone’s wife. For huge numbers of girls worldwide, reproductive rights seem like an impossible dream.