New Delhi | A total of 4.71 crore women have been screened for cervical cancer in the country, according to the National Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) portal.
This was stated by Minister of State for Health Prataprap Jadhav in Lok Sabha in a written response to a question.
He also stated that switching from Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) to HPV DNA testing for cervical cancer screening is not under consideration of the government presently.
Screening of common NCDs, including common cancers (oral, breast and cervical), is an integral part of service delivery under the Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, Jadhav said.
As on July 9, 2024, 1,73,546 Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been operationalized throughout India.
"As per National NCD portal, 4.71 crore women have been screened for cervical cancer," he said.
In June, 2022 the National Technical Advisory Group on immunization (NTAGI) had recommended the introduction of HPV vaccine in the Universal Immunization Program for girls in the age group of 9 to 14.
The Union Health Ministry provides technical and financial support to the states and UTs under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of non-communicable diseases (NP-NCD), as part of National Health Mission (NHM), based on the proposals received from the States/UTs and subject to the resource envelope.
The programme focusses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion and awareness generation for Cancer prevention, early diagnosis, management and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including cancer.
A population-based initiative for prevention, control and screening for common NCDs like diabetes, hypertension, including three common cancers (oral cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer) has been rolled out in the country under the NHM and also as a part of comprehensive primary healthcare.
Under the initiative, persons over 30 years of age are targeted for their screening for the three common cancers. Screening of these common cancers is an integral part of service delivery at Ayushman Arogya Mandir.
Prevention, control and screening services are being provided through trained frontline workers.
The Department of Health Research has informed that National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) is the designated nodal centre for training in cancer screening since 2019 and nodal training centre for training in colposcopy and the Indian Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ISCCP) has trained more than 2000 healthcare providers, including gynaecologists, medical officers, dentists, nurses and ASHAs in cancer screening and is continuing to collaborate with state governments.
Preventive aspect is strengthened under comprehensive primary healthcare through Ayushman Arogya Mandir scheme by promotion of wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level.
Other initiatives for increasing public awareness about cancer and for promotion of healthy lifestyle includes observation of National Cancer Awareness Day (7th November) and World Cancer Day (4th February) and use of print, electronic and social media for continued community awareness, he said.
In addition, NP-NCD gives financial support under NHM for awareness generation activities for cancer to be undertaken by the states and UTs as per their programme implementation plans, the minister said.