Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Vaccination For Third Most Common Cancer In India, Cervical Cancer For Girls Aged 9 To 14

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced cervical cancer vaccination in her Budget speech on Thursday (1 February).

"Our government will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of nine to 14 years for prevention of cervical cancer," she said.

"Various schemes for maternal and child healthcare will be brought under one comprehensive programme for synergy in implementation," she added.

Notably, cancer of the cervix uteri is the third most common cancer in India, with an Incidence rate of 18.3 per cent (1.24 lakh cases).

Also, it is the second leading cause of death with a mortality rate of 9.1 per cent as per GLOBOCAN 2020. Cervical cancer accounted for 6-29 per cent of all cancers among women in India.