In a landmark decision the government of India is planning to roll out a nationwide free vaccination drive against cervical cancer covering girls in the age group of 9 to 15 years. It is a welcome development as it could be a game changer in the fight against cancer.
Cervical cancer, a largely preventable disease, is the second most common cause of cancer deaths, after breast cancer, in women of reproductive age. India accounts for about a fifth of the global burden, with 1.23 lakh cases and around 75,000 deaths per year. The immunization campaign will be launched once the government has a sufficient stock of doses of the vaccine needed for the first phase of the total three phases being planned.
Cervical cancer, caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), is largely preventable and a combination of early screening and vaccination can be a powerful tool to reduce the virulence. A mass inoculation drive is necessary in view of the general lack of public awareness about the disease in the country. The vaccine, developed by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), is 97% effective in preventing cervical cancer. This is the reason more than 100 countries have now implemented HPV vaccination programmes and they have seen a significant decline in the incidence as well. Universal immunization of girls also reduces the transmission of the infection to boys and protects them from other cancers. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s data shows that there are more than four lakh cervical cancer patients in the country at any given time. While cervical cancer is preventable if detected early and managed effectively, it kills one woman every 8 minutes in the country.