Coalition History

Following the 2007 legislative session, in which debate around HPV vaccination stalled, the Alliance for the Status of Missouri Women, along with the Missouri National Education Association (MNEA), determined that a cohesive network of organizations needed to engage in education and outreach efforts to increase public and legislative support for the HPV vaccine.

On June 26, 2007, at MNEA offices in Jefferson City, concerned stakeholders met to discuss the current outreach and education efforts in Missouri on the HPV vaccine as well as the interest in and need to develop a statewide coalition to support this effort.  The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) provided details of their historic grant and agreed that an education and outreach campaign was needed to focus on increasing the number of girls and women accessing the free vaccines in Missouri. 

In subsequent gatherings, the coalition created an action plan to:

• develop a coalition name, logo, and Web site:  www.mohvp.org;
• draft, produce and disseminate a toolkit of outreach materials through coalition partners’ membership and other outlets;
• participate in ongoing collaboration on public relations strategies, such as op-eds, editorial board visits, and public service announcements.