SHEILD up! Launch of EUR 25 million project to prevent infections from developing into cancer

SHEILD up! Launch of EUR 25 million project to prevent infections from developing into cancer

Infections such as HPV, hepatitis B and C, HIV and tuberculosis cause one in eight cancer cases in Europe.   Many of these infections can be prevented, detected earlier, and treated more effectively if patients receive the right support in time. For example, the number of people affected by cervical cancer has decreased in several countries after the HPV vaccine has been included in their childhood vaccination programmes.

The SHIELD Joint Action aims to make it easier to get vaccinated, tested and treated. The project is funded with almost EUR 20 million by the EU4Health Programme and will run until end October 2028. A total of 25 European countries are partners in the project which will be coordinated by Centre of Excellence for Health, Immunity and Infections (CHIP), Rigshospitalet, Denmark.

The SHIELD Joint Action will work to ensure that more people have access to HPV and hepatitis B vaccination and improve detection and testing for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HPV, HIV, and tuberculosis. In many European countries, vaccination, detection and testing programmes for these infections are already in place, but there are various structural barriers that mean that people are not vaccinated or receive the right treatment too late, so that the infections develops into cancer.

A large part of the project is dedicated to experts developing models based on country data that can show what happens to the level of disease when you either increase or decrease a given intervention.

For example, they would explore how quickly and how much does the number of people living with HIV increase in a country if, for example, preventive efforts like distributing clean needles to people who inject drugs are stopped? Or how long or how frequently is it worth screening for cervical cancer in a country where HPV vaccination is part of the childhood vaccination programme?

The models will help countries plan more effective prevention and vaccination programmes. In the long term, this means that preventive services will be more accessible, more relevant, and more inclusive and cost-effective.

In addition, the project aims to:

·    support countries in eliminating stigma and discrimination related to HIV, viral hepatitis, TB and STI, as a strategy to increase prevention, testing and treatment of these infections;

·    train educators and healthcare professionals to avoid stigma in counselling and treatment;

·    develop better and more accessible information about prevention and treatment for populations and patients – including vulnerable population groups;

·    strengthen monitoring of vaccination coverage – especially among vulnerable groups;

·    improve and tailor prevention, testing and treatment in the health, social and prison systems;

·    collect and share experiences and best practices across Europe so that people receive better and more uniform services, no matter where they live.