Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad, March 4 (IANS) Gujarat has set a target of vaccinating 5.50 lakh adolescent girls against cervical cancer under a statewide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation campaign launched from Ahmedabad, following the national roll-out announced last week.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the nationwide drive on February 28 in Rajasthan.

The Gujarat leg of the campaign was formally launched at Sola Civil Hospital by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in the presence of Health Minister Praful Pansheriya.

Health officials said the campaign is aimed at protecting 14-year-old girls from cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among Indian women and accounts for around 17.7 per cent of cases.

National data indicate that one woman in India is diagnosed with cervical cancer every four minutes and 12 seconds, and one dies from the disease every seven minutes.

Nearly 70 to 75 per cent of patients are diagnosed at the second or third stage, and the disease remains a leading cause of death among women aged 30 to 69 years.

In 2022, India recorded an estimated 1,27,526 new cases and 79,906 deaths linked to cervical cancer. Gujarat reported 4,928 new cases and 1,781 deaths during the same period.

Experts at the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI) said concerns and misinformation surrounding the HPV vaccine are unfounded.

They stated that the vaccine is safe and effective in preventing infection from high-risk HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for the majority of cervical cancer cases.

Doctors explained that persistent HPV infection can develop into Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) over 10 to 20 years and may eventually progress to invasive cancer, making early vaccination a critical preventive measure.

Citing global evidence, they referred to findings by the World Health Organization’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, which has reported no causal link between HPV vaccination and infertility or serious side effects.

The vaccine has also been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In India, its inclusion in public health programmes has been supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization.

More than 100 countries, including Australia, United Kingdom and Canada, have incorporated the HPV vaccine into their national immunisation programmes.

Following the introduction of the vaccine in Australia in 2007, up to a 90 per cent reduction in HPV infections and high-grade cervical lesions has been reported.

Research in the United Kingdom has shown up to an 87 per cent reduction in cervical cancer incidence among girls vaccinated at 12 to 13 years of age.

State officials said the vaccine, which costs about Rs 3,000 per dose in the private market, is being provided free of charge under the programme at an estimated cost of Rs 150 crore to the exchequer.

A total of 2,297 cold chain points have been activated to maintain storage temperatures between +2°C and +8°C.

Medical staff and emergency medicines have been stationed at vaccination centres to manage minor adverse reactions, while real-time monitoring of coverage and outcomes is being conducted through the TeCHO+ and SAFE-VAC digital platforms.

The campaign aligns with the World Health Organization’s 90-70-90 target to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030, which calls for 90 per cent vaccination coverage among adolescent girls, screening of 70 per cent of women at ages 35 and 45, and treatment for 90 per cent of identified cases.

–IANS

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