It is very difficult to come to terms with the loss of someone dear to you, especially when you know you could have saved the person! 

Recently, I lost my aunt to cervical cancer. She was like a mother to me. By the time the cancer was detected, it was too late. If we had the right information at the right time, she might have been with us today.   

When I started reading about cervical cancer, I was shocked! Cervical cancer in most cases can be prevented and yet, thousands of women lose their lives to this dreaded disease every year. Cancer in the cervix is the second major type of cancer that impacts Indian women. According to data released by Globocan, in 2018, one lakh cases of cervical cancer were reported in a year from all over India and upto 62 thousand women lost their lives to it. 

Most women do not have the right information about this disease. Sign and share my petition so that this critical information reaches every woman in my state. 

Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection. This virus develops in the body for years before manifesting itself into cancer. According to the World Health Organisation, over 95% of cervical cancer cases are caused by this virus. 

Women and adolescent girls need to know that this cancer can be prevented and cured, if detected on time and managed effectively. Doctors and experts say regular screening for cervical cancer and vaccination can massively contribute to reducing the incidence of cervical cancer in the country. But these measures continue to remain out of reach for a large section of Indian women and girls.

Most women in our country do not have access to effective screening programmes. According to data released by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), only 1.9% women have undergone this screening in 2020-21. Lack of information about cervical cancer and benefits of screening, the country's poor health infrastructure and society’s never-ending silence on issues pertaining to women's health can be some of the reasons for this. 

There is also a vaccine to prevent cancer caused by HPV. But it is so expensive that most Indian women and girls cannot afford it. Although the HPV vaccine was approved in 2008, it has not yet been made part of the national immunization programme. This, even after the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) has recommended that the vaccine be included in the universal schedule. According to media reports, some states like Delhi, Sikkim and Punjab have introduced community health programmes to administer HPV vaccine to school going girls in the past. 

I want this to happen in my state, Madhya Pradesh, too. Sign and share my petition and request the Madhya Pradesh government to run an awareness campaign on cervical cancer for adolescent girls and women. Through school education and health centers, 

- Create awareness about the symptoms of cervical cancer and the benefits of regular screening
- Create awareness on cervical cancer vaccine
- Make the vaccine accessible to girls and women through regular public health programs and vaccination drives 

Our society continues to remain silent on most issues concerning women's health and our mothers and sisters are having to pay the price for it. We have to break this silence. Talking about cervical cancer is not a matter of shame but a matter of health. Sign and share this petition to spread this message far and wide. 

Thank you,

Reena Shakya
Neev Shiksha Jankalyan Samiti
Himmat Mahila Mazdoor Sangathan