He explained that although men cannot develop cervical cancer, they can transmit the virus that causes the disease.
“We want to accelerate cervical cancer prevention through a massive HPV vaccination campaign,” the minister said at the World Cancer Day commemoration event in Jakarta on Wednesday.
He noted that there are currently 10,000 community health centers (puskesmas) across Indonesia capable of providing cancer screening and early detection services.
The Ministry of Health has set a target of screening 40 million Indonesian women for cancer over the next five years.
“Every Indonesian woman over the age of 30 must receive at least one screening for cervical and breast cancer. If we can reach them, the condition can be treated as early as possible. Cancer is curable, but it requires early detection,” he remarked.
Sadikin pointed out that cervical cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women, after breast cancer. To address this, the government launched a nationwide HPV vaccination program in 2023 targeting 2.1 million 11-year-old girls.
“Over the past three years, we have reached 1.9 million women through early cancer detection programs,” he said.
He added that once the vaccination target for 11-year-old girls is achieved, the Ministry of Health will expand its focus to include 15-year-old girls.
“Some may have missed their immunization at age 11, so we plan to target 15-year-old girls this year. We are also considering a follow-up program for women aged 21,” he said.
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Translator: Lintang Budiyanti, Raka Adji
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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