Pune: In Feb this year, during her Budget speech, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the govt would 'encourage' vaccination against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) for girls aged between 9-14 years, to prevent multiple cancers. HPV is the main cause of multiple cancers including cervical cancer, anal cancer, vaginal cancer, penile cancer, and oropharyngeal cancer. It's been 10 months since Sitharaman's announcement.
On the ground, state health officials said they're yet to receive confirmation from the Centre if the HPV jab would be included in India's Universal Immunization Program (UIP), or not. Nov 7 is observed nationally as National Cancer Awareness Day . It was introduced by the health ministry in 2014, to raise awareness about prevention, early detection and treatment.
Cervical cancer is one of the most common forms of cancers affecting Indian women and a free-of-cost vaccine for young girls - as part of the UIP - would be incredibly beneficial in preventing deaths, experts said. Months after Sitharaman's speech, health minister JP Nadda had said in Aug that the govt was working to fix logistical issues before rolling out the HPV jab as part of the UIP. Officials said the process has been painfully slow, given the threat these cancers pose.
Every year, India reports nearly 1,23,000 new cases of cervical cancer, which mainly affects those in the 15-44 age group. More than 70,000 Indian women die of it each year. Dr Pravin Vedpathak, Maharashtra immun.