OUR CAMPAIGN
OUR GOAL:
To eliminate 5% of all cancers through global coverage of gender neutral HPV vaccination programmes.
HPV is the causal agent of 5% of cancer, yet the vast majority of people remain unaware of the link between the two outside of cervical cancer.
We raise awareness about the connection between HPV, cancer in both men and women, and the vaccine which can protect against the virus.
Vaccination against HPV presents the best opportunity to prevent our daughters and sons from attaining a HPV-related cancer. The majority of people will come to contact with the virus at some stage in their lives, regardless of their sex.
A gender-neutral virus requires a gender neutral vaccination programme.
Our vision is of a world where every country vaccinates both boys and girls against HPV.
We work to influence policy so that gender-neutral vaccination becomes the gold standard of protection against HPV-related cancer.
It is vital that we educate parents that boys as well as girls are at risk for developing HPV-related illness. The disease burden caused by HPV includes cervical, penile, anal, vaginal, vulval and head & neck cancers. In fact, 5% of cancers are caused by HPV and develop in both men and women.
OUR STORY
PAULETTE ISABEL CROWTHER
I started the NOMAN campaign with my sisters Justine and Camille and the overwhelming support of our inaugural participants, to increase awareness about the Human Papillomavirus and its connection to men, while creating a unique endurance experience designed to represent the struggle and isolation that many cancer patients feel especially those that carry an extremely challenging stigma.
Caring for my mother Paulette Isabel Crowther, Justine, Camille and I saw how the emotional anxiety of a cancer diagnosis can sometimes be more challenging than the side effects of physical treatment. Relying on each other for mutual support along our journey, we worked as a unit to provide Paulette with constant care to help her navigate the difficult diagnosis of Stage IV HPV-related anal cancer. When she passed away in 2010, we were devastated, but Paulette’s incredible spirit spurred us to understand how we could help prevent HPV from ending someone’s life early again.
The more we discovered, the more shocked we became:
- Over 80% of people are exposed to HPV at some point in their life.
- HPV causes 5% of cancer cases. Cancers caused by HPV are increasing, not decreasing.
- Only one new drug to treat any HPV-related cancer had been approved in the past 19 years.
- Approved vaccines exist which protect against the most common cancer causing HPVs.
- HPV causes cancer in both men and women. In ten years time, more men than women will suffer from HPV-related cancers in developed countries.
- In almost all countries, boys were not provided universal access to HPV vaccines.
To achieve our finish-line goal of beating HPV cancers, we must work together across genders, populations, and institutions. NOMAN illustrates that no-one can fight HPV-related cancers alone, certainly not by targeting one gender in isolation when both genders are affected by HPV.
A gender-neutral virus requires a gender-neutral vaccine.
NOMAN is more than a race, it is a call to action.
Yours,
Tristan Almada
Co-Founder & President
COUNTRIES VACCINATING BOYS AND GIRLS AGAINST HPV
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRIA
BAHAMAS
BAHRAIN
BARBADOS
BELGIUM
BELIZE
BHUTAN
BRAZIL
CAMEROON
CANADA
CAPE VERDE
CHILE
COLOMBIA
CROATIA
CYPRUS
CZECHIA
DENMARK
EL SALVADOR
FINLAND
FRANCE
GERMANY
GREECE
GUYANA
HUNGARY
IRELAND
ISRAEL
ITALY
JAMAICA
KUWAIT
LATVIA
LIECHTENSTEIN
LUXEMBOURG
MALTA
MAURITIUS
MONACO
NETHERLANDS
NEW ZEALAND
NORWAY
PANAMA
PERU
POLAND
PORTUGAL
QATAR
ROMANIA
SERBIA
SLOVAKIA
SLOVENIA
ST KITTS & NEVIS
ST LUCIA
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
TURKMENISTAN
UAE
UK
USA
URUGUAY
The following countries vaccinate both sexes against HPV or have passed legislation to do so: