Team Blitz India
ALAPPUZHA: Kerala has one of the best medical infrastructures and facilities in the country. In yet another innovative step at eradicating cervical cancer, the state will launch a vaccination programme for plus one and plus two girl students in Alappuzha and Wayanad. This drive is being conducted under the supervision of the health department. The Health and Family Welfare Minister, Veena George, had recently convened a meeting of the department and given instructions to carry this vaccination programme in the districts of Alappuzha and Wayanad on a pilot basis. The Kerala State Cancer Board is also involved in this programme.
It must be mentioned here that in 2021, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a meeting in which it was decided to approve the road map for the eradication of cervical cancer, to implement HPV vaccination across the state and to launch the programme on a pilot basis in 2-3 districts subject to the availability of funds. According to the WHO, cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix. Almost all cervical cancer cases (99%) are linked to infection with highrisk human papillomaviruses (HPV), an extremely common virus transmitted through sexual contact. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women.
Commenting on the initiative of the Government, Cochin Cancer Research Center (CCRC) Director-in-Charge Dr PG Balagopal said that a sustained campaign over the years has brought cervical cancer levels in the state under control. “Better hygiene, good health habits, lower childbirth rates, and better sexual habits have contributed to the lowering of cervical cancer incidence in the state to single digits.
Kerala can certainly achieve the aim of becoming cervical cancer-free, and the health department personnel are reaching out to remote areas to spread the message and bring the whole state under the protection of the HPV vaccine,” he said.
