Landmark Health Campaign Targets One of the Deadliest Cancers

India has launched the world’s largest HPV vaccination programme, offering free jabs to around 11.5 million 14-year-old girls each year to prevent cervical cancer.

“This is a major initiative to improve women’s health,” said Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India.

Cervical cancer causes over 130,000 cases and around 80,000 deaths annually in India, accounting for roughly one in four global cases. The vaccine used can prevent up to 90% of cases by protecting against high-risk HPV strains, and the nationwide rollout removes previous cost barriers of about 2,000 rupees per dose. With more than 160 countries already using HPV vaccines, large-scale programmes like this are helping move closer to the global goal of eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem.