Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech draws attention to cervical cancer, look at how things stand in various states

Uttar Pradesh had the highest incidence of cervical cancer in India last year, according to the National Cancer Registry Programme.

According to the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Cancer Registry Program (ICMR-NCRP), India has reported more than 3.42 lakh cases of cervical cancer, which is characterized by abnormal growth of cells originating in the cervix.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the majority of cervical cancer cases, recording over 45,000 cases in 2023, followed by Tamil Nadu (36,000 cases), Maharashtra (30,000 cases), West Bengal (25,800 cases) , Bihar (23,160 cases) and Karnataka (20,670 cases).

However, the Papupare district of Arunachal Pradesh has the highest incidence of cervical cancer per one lakh people, according to data provided by the government in its reply to the Lok Sabha.

Papumpare district has about 27.7 cervical cancer cases per 1, 00,000 people, followed by Mizoram’s Aizwar district (27.4) and Mizoram (23.2)

The central government will encourage young girls to get vaccinated against cervical cancer, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Thursday while presenting the interim budget. The announcement stated that the government plans to promote vaccination of girls aged 9 to 14 with the purpose of preventing cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in India and accounts for nearly a quarter of cervical cancer deaths worldwide, although cervical cancer is largely preventable.

When asked about the details of the screening program to tackle cervical cancer cases in the country, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare listed several initiatives under the National Health Mission and health and wellness centers under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

“The National Health Authority has launched a population-based initiative to prevent, control and screen common non-communicable diseases (i.e. diabetes, hypertension and common cancers) as part of integrated primary health care in the country .”

“Under this initiative, people above 30 years of age will be targeted for screening of three common cancers namely cervical, breast and oral cancer. Screening for these common cancers is an integral part of the services provided by Ayushman Arogya Mandir .”