Currently, cervical cancer can be prevented through HPV immunization and early detectionJakarta (ANTARA) - The government is committed to expanding the socialization of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) immunization as a concrete step towards expediting efforts to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030, Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has said.
"Based on the 2016 recommendation of the National Immunization Expert Advisory Committee on the HPV vaccine, the government, through the Health Ministry, has conducted demonstration programs on HPV immunization since 2016. From 2020 to 2024, there will be demonstrations of the provision of HPV immunization in nine pilot provinces," he informed during a webinar on World Cancer Day on Friday.
The expansion of the HPV immunization program is important since cervical cancer has become the second-highest cause of death among women in Indonesia, with cervical cancer accounting for 36,633 or 9.2 percent of the total cancer cases, he said.
The high mortality rate from cervical cancer is due to low early detection, recorded at just 8.29 percent, the minister informed.
"Currently, cervical cancer can be prevented through HPV immunization and early detection," Sadikin noted.
Meanwhile, coordinator of immunization substances at the Directorate General of Disease Prevention and Control of the Health Ministry, Iqbal Djakaria, said immunizations were carried out during the Students' Immunization Month (BIAS), with free first doses provided to female students in the fifth grade of elementary school and second doses to sixth grade students.
To reach targets outside of school, immunization could be carried out at Integrated Health Service Posts (Posyandu), Community Health Centers (Puskesmas), and other health service facilities, he said.
"Immunization can also be carried out outside schools such as at shelters, orphanages, and other places," he suggested.
He said that in 2022, HPV vaccine socialization will be expanded in 131 districts and cities and target 889,813 children. In 2023, 131 districts and cities and 1,433,581 children will be targeted under the effort, he added.
"By God's willing, later in 2024, it will cover all regions in Indonesia," he added.
These efforts are expected to reduce the incidence of cervical cancer to 4 cases per 100 thousand population per year by 2030, he informed.
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Translator: Suci Nurhaliza, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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