HPV vaccine and cervical cancer policy and policymaking research interest in sub-Saharan Africa: A scoping review

•Most sub-Saharan African nations do not have cervical cancer policy.•There is low research interest in HPV vaccine and cervical cancer policy.•The scoping review has opened a case of geographical research-interest inequity.•Targeted funding to promote research-interest is recommended.•Further reviews/research that incorporates other databases is recommended. This scoping review attempts to delineate the level of research interest in HPV vaccine and cervical cancer policy and /or policymaking process in sub-Saharan Africa. Google Scholar, Cochrane Library database, ProQuest, and PubMed, were accessed for articles that were written in English language from 2006 to 2019, on topics that had relevance to HPV vaccine and cervical cancer policy and/or policymaking process in sub-Saharan Africa. A total of 63 articles (13 %) out of 472 articles that were screened met the inclusion criteria for articles that focused on HPV vaccine and cervical cancer policy and policymaking process in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the 63 included articles, only 21 had corresponding authors’ address in an African country. The low numbers of acceptable articles and corresponding authors in sub-Saharan Africa that focused on HPV vaccine and cervical cancer policy and policymaking process presents two likely challenges; 1) a lack of HPV vaccine or cervical cancer policy research interest among African authors, and/or, 2) a lack of funding to support HPV vaccine or cervical cancer research in sub-Saharan Africa.