India highlights Cervical Cancer elimination efforts at WHO, 86 Million women screened

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda on Friday reaffirmed India’s commitment to eliminating cervical cancer as a public health concern while virtually addressing a press briefing at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Highlighting women’s health as a national priority, Nadda said the Government of India has adopted a comprehensive strategy to tackle cervical cancer through prevention, large-scale screening, early detection, and timely treatment. Cervical cancer continues to pose a major health challenge globally and in India, prompting sustained public health efforts to address the disease.

Under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), the government has expanded population-based screening initiatives across the country. Screening using Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) is now available at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and other public health facilities for women aged 30 to 65 years . According to the minister, over 86 million women have been screened so far under the programme.

Nadda also highlighted the launch of India’s nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign , inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 28 . The programme aims to vaccinate around 12 million adolescent girls aged 14 and is being implemented over a 90-day period . The campaign uses the Gardasil Quadrivalent vaccine under a single-dose schedule and is being provided free of cost at government health facilities.

The minister emphasized that the vaccination programme is voluntary and based on parental consent , reflecting respect for community values. Vaccination data is recorded through the U-WIN digital immunization platform , while Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) monitors vaccine supply and cold-chain logistics.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended the initiative, describing the HPV campaign as the world’s largest free HPV vaccination drive , noting that such preventive efforts are crucial to achieving the WHO’s 2030 targets for eliminating cervical cancer .