The Centre has written to all States and Union Territories to create awareness on prevention of cervical cancer and the importance of HPV vaccine among girl students across the country.
In a joint letter by Union Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar and Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan it has been highlighted that globally, cervical cancer is the 4th most common cancer in women.
In India, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and India contributes to the largest proportion of global cervical cancer burden. Cervical cancer is a preventable and curable disease, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively, said the Ministry of Education in a statement on Thursday.
Most cervical cancers are associated with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and the HPV vaccine can prevent most cases of cervical cancer if the vaccine is given before girls or women are exposed to the virus. Prevention through vaccination is one of the pillars of the Global Strategy adopted by the WHO for the elimination of cervical cancer.
It is mentioned that the National Technical Advisory Group for Immunization (NTAGI) has recommended introduction of HPV vaccine in the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) with a one-time catch-up for 9-14 year-old adolescent girls followed by routine introduction at 9 years.
The vaccination would be provided primarily through schools (Grade based approach: 5th-l0th) as school enrolment of girls is high. In order to reach those girls who are unable to attend school on the campaign day, the vaccination would be provided at a health facility while for out-of-school girls the campaign would be conducted through Community Outreach and Mobile teams based on age (9-14 years). For registration, recording and reporting of vaccination numbers, the U-WIN App would be used.