* Eight countries to start pilot projects backed by GAVI
* Cervical cancer HPV vaccines are made by Merck and GSK
* Over 85 pct of cervical cancer deaths are in poor nations
By Kate Kelland
LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The GAVI global vaccines group isto help protect more than 180,000 girls in eight countriesacross Africa and Asia from cervical cancer by fundingimmunisation projects with vaccines from Merck andGlaxoSmithKline.
The non-profit GAVI Alliance, which funds bulk-buyvaccination programmes for poor nations, said on Monday thatGhana, Kenya, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone andTanzania would be the first countries to get its support forcervical cancer protection pilot projects.
Merck's Gardasil and GSK's Cervarix vaccines are the world'sonly two approved shots designed to protect against the sexuallytransmitted human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes the vastmajority of cervical cancer cases.
More than 85 percent of cervical cancer deaths occur indeveloping nations and 275,000 women die of the disease eachyear. This means cervical cancer now kills more women worldwidethan childbirth, claiming a life every two minutes, GAVI said.
Experts say the annual worldwide cervical cancer death ratecould rise to 430,000 by 2030 if no action is taken to protectmore women from it.
"Introducing the HPV vaccine in developing countries is thestart of a global effort to protect all girls against cervicalcancer," GAVI chief executive Seth Berkley said in a statement.
A study published in 2011 found that since 1980 newcervical cancer case numbers and deaths have droppedsubstantially in rich countries - many of which have screeningprogrammes and have also recently introduced HPV vaccinations -but risen dramatically in Africa and other poor regions.
PRICE NEGOTIATIONS
GAVI - backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, theWorld Health Organization, the World Bank, UNICEF, donorgovernments and others - has been working with the vaccinemanufacturers to secure the most affordable price for the shots.
Merck has said it is prepared to offer Gardasil to GAVIcountries at a deeply discounted price of $5 per dose, meaning athree-dose course would cost $15. GAVI has previously describedthis as a "a good starting offer".
The pilot projects are designed to give countries a chanceto test whether they can put in place the systems needed to rollout HPV vaccines nationally.
Unlike most other vaccines, which are given to babies andchildren under age five, HPV vaccines are designed to be givento girls aged nine to 13 in an effort to protect them beforethey are likely to become sexually active.
One major challenge to effectively delivering HPV vaccinesis that many developing countries do not offer routine healthservices for girls in this age group. But GAVI said initialexperience in offering HPV vaccines through schools in Africa,Asia and Latin America had been encouraging.
By 2015, GAVI says it hopes to help more than 20 countriesimmunise around a million girls with HPV vaccines through pilotprojects, and by 2020 it hopes to have helped more than 30million girls in over 40 countries to get the vaccine.
Glaxosmithkline (GSK)