Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday launched a citywide HPV vaccination drive aimed at preventing cervical cancer, targeting nearly 1,30,000 adolescent girls aged 14 to 15 years.
Over 24,900 girls from municipal schools will be covered in the first phase, followed by students from aided and private schools. Registration will open next week on the U-WIN portal.
Vaccinations will be administered across BMC’s network of 284 institutions, including 236 health centres, 27 maternity homes, 16 general hospitals and five medical colleges. The programme is voluntary but requires parental consent.
The civic body has received 20,160 doses of the HPV vaccine ‘Gardasil-4’. Each beneficiary will receive a single 0.5 ml intramuscular dose. The drive was formally inaugurated at Dr BYL Nair Hospital, where five girls received the vaccine.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among Indian women, with an incidence rate of 17.7 per 100,000 women in 2022. The World Health Organization has recommended including the HPV vaccine in the national immunisation programme.
The civic body’s public health department has trained over 262 medical officers, 1,008 nurses and more than 4,400 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) workers and health volunteers for implementation. Registration and certification will be handled digitally through the U-WIN portal.
Mayor Ritu Tawde urged parents to ensure their daughters receive the vaccine, emphasizing that it is safe and effective.