In 2010, the UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health built upon this strategy, by including sexual health promotion and STI prevention in a comprehensive package of essential health services for women [4]. At the same time, realizing the

full potential of vaccines not only in preventing an estimated 2.5 million childhood deaths each year but also in preventing mortality and morbidity in adolescence and adulthood, the global health community has taken on bold initiatives such as establishment PFI-2 clinical trial of the GAVI Alliance to accelerate uptake of new vaccines in eligible developing countries, and the launch of another critical global health movement: the Decade of Vaccines [5] and [6]. The vision of the Decade of Vaccines (2011–2020) is a world in which all individuals and communities enjoy lives free from vaccine-preventable diseases. To realize this vision, in 2012 the World Health Assembly endorsed the Global Vaccine Action Plan [7], a roadmap to save millions of lives through extending the benefits of vaccination to all people. In addition to ensuring more equitable access and delivery of existing vaccines, the Global Vaccine Action Plan calls for new research to develop the next generation of vaccines and technologies. The confluence

of global efforts related to sexual and reproductive health and advancement of vaccines offers Akt inhibitor drugs a critical new opportunity for STI prevention, and a call to action. The success stories of hepatitis B and HPV vaccine development and uptake can inspire and catalyze development

of new vaccines against additional STIs. Sexual and reproductive no health and vaccine development are both high on the global health agenda. Now is the time to capitalize on these global efforts and accelerate progress toward new STI vaccines. The authors are staff members of the World Health Organization. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the decisions, policy or views of the World Health Organization. “
“More than 30 bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens are classified as sexually transmitted infections (STIs). These STIs are a major global cause of acute illness, infertility, long-term disability and death, with serious medical and psychological consequences for millions of men, women and infants [1] and [2]. Two existing vaccines, against hepatitis B virus and human papillomavirus (HPV), have shown that it is possible to develop safe and effective vaccines against STIs. Building on that success, development of vaccines against other STIs can now be envisioned as an achievable goal.