CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government has allocated Rs 36 crore in the budget to provide the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to all girls aged 14 years in order to prevent cervical cancer.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced, in last year’s budget speech, that the HPV vaccination would be included in the National Immunisation schedule and girls in the age group of eight to 14 years would be encouraged to take the shot.
Dr T S Selvavinayagam, director of public health and preventive medicine said the state will identify the children, decide which vaccine should be procured and the mode of procurement, along with sensitisation.
“The union government’s HPV vaccination scheme is still in the pipeline. Once it takes off, we will decide whether to merge it with the state scheme. As of now, the state has decided to go ahead with a mass HPV vaccination programme. Once Tamil Nadu gets vaccines from the centre, we will decide whether to merge it with the state’s programme,” Dr Selvavinayagam added.
The state, this year, has allocated Rs 21, 906 crore for the Health and Family Welfare Department for 2025-26, an increase of 8.5% over last year’s allocation of Rs 20,198 crore, with a thrust on preventive healthcare, especially with regard to non-communicable diseases. The state also allocated Rs 110 crore to boost early cancer detection with advanced diagnostic methods by improving medical equipment and manpower in secondary and medical colleges in the next three years.
While Dr G R Ravindranath, general secretary, Doctors Association for Social Equality welcomed the introduction of the HPV vaccine for girls, he pointed out that the budget failed to mention hikes in salary for doctors or job regularisation of temporary workers. “Government should stop recruiting staff on contract basis, and recruit only on permanent employment,” he said.