The Indian Union Health Ministry is set to implement capacity building initiatives for frontline health workers engaged in administration of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, sources said.
In her 2024 interim budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the government will promote vaccination of girls aged 9-14 years to check cervical cancer.
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Sources said that the Union Health Ministry has already conducted a number of meetings and is formulating a detailed plan for the implementation of the same. “Planning of roll-out of capacity building interventions for frontline workers and IEC activities for sensitization is on the anvil with regard to HPV vaccination,” an official release stated.
The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) in June 2022 had suggested introducing HPV vaccine under Universal Immunisation Programme among adolescent girls aged between 9-14 years.
At present, vaccines from two companies — MSD Pharmaceuticals and Serum Institute of India — are found in the Indian market.
The vaccine protects women from cervical cancer, vulvar cancer and vaginal cancer. It also guards men and women from anal cancer and genital warts, sources added.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women in India. As per statistics of 2020, 1,23,907 women are detected with cervical cancer and 77,348 lose their lives to the disease every year.
