India Crosses 80 Lakh HPV Vaccinations As Cervical Cancer Prevention Efforts Expand

India has administered more than 80 lakh doses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine under its National HPV Vaccination Campaign over the past six months, marking a significant step in the country's efforts to prevent cervical cancer, officials said on Friday. The campaign provides voluntary, free-of-cost single-dose HPV vaccination to 14-year-old girls through the public healthcare system.

Several states have reported substantial progress in reaching their identified target populations. Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have achieved 100 per cent coverage, while Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Assam have crossed 90 per cent. Karnataka has reported more than 85 per cent coverage, while Chhattisgarh, Sikkim, Kerala, Telangana and Odisha have crossed the 60 per cent mark.

Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest number of vaccinations among states, with more than 22 lakh adolescent girls receiving the vaccine under the campaign. Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 28, the programme aims to strengthen preventive healthcare and expand protection against HPV, an infection that can cause cervical cancer. The vaccine is administered at government health facilities with parental consent and under the supervision of trained medical officers.

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According to the Union Health Ministry, government health facilities are linked to 24x7 healthcare services for monitoring and managing adverse events following immunisation. States and Union Territories have also adopted approaches suited to rural, urban, remote and geographically challenging areas. Parents, teachers, healthcare providers and frontline workers, including ASHAs and ANMs, have been involved in awareness and mobilisation efforts to address concerns and misinformation surrounding HPV vaccination.

The campaign is also using India's digital health infrastructure through the U-WIN platform, which enables programme managers to track vaccination coverage at the district level, identify gaps and missed beneficiaries, and support planning and resource allocation. The Health Ministry said the programme builds on extensive global experience with HPV vaccination, with more than 800 million doses distributed worldwide. HPV vaccines have increasingly been incorporated into national immunisation programmes across countries at different income levels.

With the campaign moving towards its final phase, officials said efforts are focused on reaching the remaining eligible beneficiaries and ensuring wider access to vaccination. According to the World Health Organisation, cervical cancer is largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening and can be cured when detected early and treated promptly. India records more than 1.2 lakh new cervical cancer cases and nearly 80,000 deaths annually, according to the 2022 WHO GLOBOCAN report, underscoring the importance of prevention and early detection.

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