On Thursday, Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance, stated that the government wants to promote cervical cancer vaccination. Sitharaman announced the government's intention to promote cervical cancer vaccinations for girls between the ages of 9 and 14 at the presentation of the interim Budget 2024
Persistent infection with high-risk strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer, which develops from the cervix (the lower part of the uterus). among the world, it ranks as the fourth most frequent cancer among women.
India's cervical cancer rate
Cervical uterine cancer is the third most frequent cancer in India, according to GLOBOCAN 2020, with an incidence rate of 18.3% (123,907 cases). With a 9.1% death rate, cervical cancer is really the second most common cause of death.
Based on estimations from 2022, over 75,000 women in the nation lose their lives to cervical cancer each year, with about 125,000 women receiving a diagnosis of the disease. Seventy per cent of occurrences globally and around 83 per cent of invasive cervical malignancies in India are linked to HPVs 16 or 18.
India's Vaccine Against Cervical Cancer
India launched Cervavac, the first locally made version of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, in September 2022. Together with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, DBT and BIRAC developed this vaccine domestically.
Believing that immunization is essential for protecting women from developing cervical cancer, the government has taken action to increase public access to Cervavac, including adding it to the national immunization program.
