Newly-elected West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari Saturday launched a statewide vaccination campaign against the human papillomavirus (HPV), that aims to protect adolescent girls against cervical cancer, news agency PTI reported.

The vaccination drive will be conducted at 881 government health centres, including medical colleges, district hospitals, sub-divisional hospitals, state general hospitals and block primary health centres, officials told the news agency.

It comes over three months after India launched a nationwide campaign to vaccinate 14-year-old girls against the virus. Launched on February 28, it aims to vaccinate approximately 1.15 crore girls annually across India’s states and union territories.

The drive in Bengal aims to target around 7.65 lakh beneficiaries aged 14 years, according to PTI.

Girls who have completed 14 years of age, but are due to turn 15, will receive a single dose of the quadrivalent Gardasil-4 vaccine free-of -cost at the designated centres, according to the officials.

The campaign against the HPV comes amid growing concerns over India’s cervical cancer burden.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women in India, accounting for more than 1.2 lakh new cases and nearly 80,000 deaths annually, according to estimates released by GLOBOCAN 2022, a previous report in The Indian Express quoted.

Despite being preventable through vaccination and screening sessions, the disease has strained India’s public health system, mostly among low-income families with limited access to preventive care.

According to the goals stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), vaccinating 90% of girls, screening 70% of women, and treating 90% of pre-cancer and cancer cases—is crucial to eliminating cervical cancer globally.