Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow
Lucknow, Sep 19: Uttar Pradesh has achieved 100 per cent of its target under the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign, with more than 26 lakh eligible adolescent girls administered the vaccine, the state health department announced on Friday.
The number of girls vaccinated in Uttar Pradesh is equivalent to the population of Qatar and exceeds the total population of several countries, including Bahrain, Slovenia, Latvia, Cyprus, Mauritius and Malta.
The girls were vaccinated under the national HPV vaccination campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2026.
Under the programme, a single dose of the HPV vaccine was provided free of cost to eligible 14-year-old girls at government health facilities, with parental consent.
HPV is one of the major causes of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer among women in India. According to GLOBOCAN 2022 data, more than 1.2 lakh new cervical cancer cases and nearly 80,000 deaths are reported annually in the country.
“Providing the HPV vaccine to over 26 lakh girls was not merely an achievement or a number for us. It was connected with the hopes of millions of families and the secure future of our daughters,” said Pinky Jowal, Mission Director, National Health Mission, Uttar Pradesh.
She credited health department teams, ASHA workers, ANMs, doctors, teachers, parents and communities for the achievement.